Study on HPLC Fingerprints and Main Chemical Composition Changes Before and After Compatibility of Astragali Radix and Angelicae Sinensis Radix

OBJECTIVE To establish methods for HPLC fingerprints and simultaneous determination of multi-index components before and after compatibility of Astragali Radix and Angelicae Sinensis Radix, and to explore material basis of their compatibility. METHODS The extracts of Astragali Radix, Angelicae Sinensis Radix and their compatibility were prepared by water decoction-spray drying method. The separation was performed on a Shim-Pack VP-ODS column(250 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm) with a gradient elution at a temperature of 30℃, with the mobile phase comprising of water-methanol flowing at 1.0 mL·min^-1 in a gradient elution manner, and the detection wavelength was set at 280 nm. The methods for HPLC fingerprints and simultaneous determination of multi-index components of calycosin, calycosin-7-glucoside, fermononetin, ferulic acid and Z-ligustilide before and after compatibility of Astragali Radix and Angelicae Sinensis Radix were established. The common patterns of fingerprints were obtained, the common peaks were calibrated, the relative peak area changes were analyzed, the peaks were assigned, and the content changes of multi-index components before and after compatibility were analyzed. RESULTS The established methods for HPLC fingerprints and simultaneous determination of multi-index components had good precision, the components in solution were stable within 3 d, and the RSD values of each chromatographic peak were <3.0%. The five index components showed good linear relationships within their own ranges, and the recovery rates were in compliance with relevant regulations. The fingerprint similarities of each sample were >0.9. After compatibility of Astragali Radix and Angelicae Sinensis Radix, a total of twenty-six common peaks were calibrated, nine of which were from Astragali Radix, six from Angelicae Sinensis Radix, seven from both of them, and four were newly formed. After compatibility, the contents of calycosin and fermononetin from Astragali Radix were significantly decreased(P<0.05), and the contents of ferulic acid and Z-ligustilide were significantly decreased in Angelicae Sinensis Radix(P<0.01). CONCLUSION After compatibility of Astragali Radix and Angelicae Sinensis Radix, HPLC fingerprints changed significantly, which generally reflected in content decrease of most chemical components, increase of individual components, and formation of new components.