Quality Analysis of Raw Material and Products of Goat Bezoar (Houzao), a Mysterious Traditional Medicine.

IF 2.6 3区生物学 Q2 BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH METHODS

Phytochemical Analysis Pub Date : 2025-10-01 Epub Date: 2025-08-14 DOI:10.1002/pca.70022

Sing-Wan Pun, Hau-Yee Fung, Peili Zhu, Zhu Zhang, Hanting Hu, Yinan Feng, Zhongzhen Zhao, Lifeng Li, Quanbin Han

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Goat bezoar (Houzao in Chinese, also called "monkey" bezoar or Caprae Calculus) is a valued traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) used in the treatment of pediatric cough for centuries. However, its undefined chemical composition hinders quality control and mechanistic understanding, limiting its modernization and further development.

Objective: This study aims to comprehensively characterize the chemical composition of goat bezoar and develop a robust quality control method.

Method: UPLC-qTOF-MS was first utilized to analyze the methanol extract of goat bezoar reference material. Markers specific to the medicinal portion were identified by comparing the chemical profiles with the non-medicinal portion and 50 co-formulated TCMs. Amino acid composition and ash content were also determined. Validated quantitative methods for these markers were subsequently developed using both UPLC-qTOF-MS and UPLC-DAD and applied to assess the quality of 13 batches of raw goat bezoar material and 38 batches of commercial products.

Results: Eight characteristic markers, including ellagic acid and seven of its gut microbial metabolites (urolithins), were identified exclusively within the medicinal portion. Ellagic acid (72.72%-89.41%) and total urolithins (2.14%-5.13%) were major components. These, along with amino acids (1.19%-5.91%) and total ash (2.09%), account for over 90% of the medicinal portion's composition. The analysis of commercial materials and products using this method revealed that goat bezoar may be absent in 20 commercial products while all the goat bezoar powder samples were authentic.

Conclusion: This study provides the first comprehensive chemical characterization of goat bezoar, revealing its unique composition and establishing it as the only known TCM with urolithins. Validated quantitative methods for ellagic acid and urolithins provide a crucial quality control tool, paving the way for further research, development, and modernization of this valuable TCM.

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神秘中药山牛黄原料及制品的质量分析

背景：山羊牛黄（中文叫“猴牛黄”或“猴牛黄”）是一种珍贵的中药，几个世纪以来一直用于治疗小儿咳嗽。但其化学成分不明确，妨碍了质量控制和机理认识，限制了其现代化和进一步发展。目的：全面表征山羊牛黄的化学成分，建立可靠的质量控制方法。方法：首次采用UPLC-qTOF-MS对山羊牛黄标准品甲醇提取物进行分析。通过与非药用部分和50种共配中药的化学特征比较，确定了药用部分的特异性标记物。测定了氨基酸组成和灰分含量。随后使用UPLC-qTOF-MS和UPLC-DAD开发了这些标记物的有效定量方法，并应用于13批山羊牛黄原料和38批商业产品的质量评估。结果：8个特征标记，包括鞣花酸及其7种肠道微生物代谢物（尿石素），在药用部分中被鉴定出来。主要成分为鞣花酸（72.72% ~ 89.41%）和总尿石素（2.14% ~ 5.13%）。这些，连同氨基酸（1.19%-5.91%）和总灰分（2.09%），占药用部分成分的90%以上。利用该方法对商品原料和产品进行分析，发现20种商品中可能不含山羊牛黄，而山羊牛黄粉样品全部为正品。结论：本研究首次对山羊牛黄进行了全面的化学表征，揭示了其独特的成分，确立了其为目前已知的唯一含尿石素的中药。经过验证的鞣花酸和尿石素的定量方法提供了重要的质量控制工具，为进一步研究、开发和现代化这一有价值的中药铺平了道路。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Phytochemical Analysis 生物-分析化学

CiteScore

6.00

自引率

6.10%

发文量

审稿时长

1.7 months

期刊介绍： Phytochemical Analysis is devoted to the publication of original articles concerning the development, improvement, validation and/or extension of application of analytical methodology in the plant sciences. The spectrum of coverage is broad, encompassing methods and techniques relevant to the detection (including bio-screening), extraction, separation, purification, identification and quantification of compounds in plant biochemistry, plant cellular and molecular biology, plant biotechnology, the food sciences, agriculture and horticulture. The Journal publishes papers describing significant novelty in the analysis of whole plants (including algae), plant cells, tissues and organs, plant-derived extracts and plant products (including those which have been partially or completely refined for use in the food, agrochemical, pharmaceutical and related industries). All forms of physical, chemical, biochemical, spectroscopic, radiometric, electrometric, chromatographic, metabolomic and chemometric investigations of plant products (monomeric species as well as polymeric molecules such as nucleic acids, proteins, lipids and carbohydrates) are included within the remit of the Journal. Papers dealing with novel methods relating to areas such as data handling/ data mining in plant sciences will also be welcomed.