Quality grade evaluation and the related research of Forsythia suspensa from different places on the market

Abstract

Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl. is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine widely used in the field of medicine. Although it has been reported that the quality of Forsythia suspensa can be evaluated by multiple index components, the quality of qualified herbs will also be different. Therefore, the fused fingerprints of 17 batches of Forsythia suspensa and 15 batches of Forsythia suspensa seeds were established by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Based on in vitro antioxidant activity, Forsythia suspensa from different habitats was graded and evaluated, and the quality of Qingqiao, Laoqiao and their seeds was further studied. The results showed that the quality grades and antioxidant capacity of Forsythia suspensa from different origins were quite different. It was suggested that 7 batches of Qingqiao from different origins should be divided into 5 quality grades and 10 batches of Laoqiao should be divided into 8 quality grades according to the content of active chemical components, and then the antioxidant capacity was further discussed according to the IC₅₀ value measured in the experiment. In addition, based on the research results, it was found that the content of forsythiaside in Forsythia suspensa seeds was generally higher than that in Forsythia suspensa fruits, while the content of phillyrin was generally lower than that in Forsythia suspensa fruits. Additionally, the quality of Qingqiao was significantly better than that of Laoqiao. This study provides a new reliable basis for the quality evaluation and rational utilization of Forsythia suspensa.