Multiple fingerprints and quantitative analysis for comprehensive quality evaluation of Citri reticulatae pericarpium within different storage years

Abstract

In order to comprehensively monitor and evaluate the quality of CRP from different angles, multiple fingerprints including the multi-wavelength fused high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprint, and ultraviolet (UV) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) quantum fingerprints were established. The comprehensiveness of the information of the multi-wavelength fusion fingerprint compared with the single-wavelength fingerprint was proved by combining with the chemometric method. A multi-markers assay by monolinear (MAML) method was proposed to determine the content of the main components. The quantitative results showed that there was no significant difference between the MAML method and the external standard method (ESM). In addition, the different relationships between the total amount of main components and the macro quantitative similarity (P_m) of multiple fingerprints suggested that the P_m values of multiple fingerprints could characterize the total content of different types of chemical components. The 30 batches of CRP were divided into five quality grades by multiple fingerprints combined with the quantified ratio fingerprinting method (QRFM), indicating good quality consistency. Overall, the study provided a comprehensive and reliable analysis for the quality evaluation and rational utilization of CRP.