# Quality control of traditional Chinese medicine Chelidonii herba based on 2D-Q-NMR

## TL;DR

This study uses 2D-Q-NMR to analyze and quantify alkaloids in Chelidonii herba, a traditional Chinese medicine, offering a simpler and more reliable quality control method.

## Contribution

The study introduces 2D-Q-NMR as a novel, reliable alternative to HPLC for quantifying alkaloids in Chelidonii herba.

## Key findings

- 2D-Q-NMR provides results consistent with HPLC in quantifying alkaloids.
- Total alkaloid content does not directly correlate with individual monomeric alkaloid content.
- 2D-Q-NMR is simpler and more reproducible than traditional methods.

## Abstract

Chelidonii herba is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb with effects including antispasmodic, analgesic, antitussive, and bronchodilator properties. Alkaloids are the main bioactive ingredients in Chelidonii herba. In this study, a two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (Heteronuclear Singular Quantum Correlation, HSQC-2D-NMR) technique was employed to quantitatively analyze the total alkaloid content and three major active alkaloid monomers in Chelidonii herba from eleven different sources. The quantification results of the three monomeric alkaloids were also verified using conventional quantitative control methods such as HPLC. Experimental findings indicate that the total alkaloid content is not directly correlated with the content of the three monomeric alkaloids. Furthermore, the content of any individual monomeric alkaloid does not accurately reflect the overall quality of Chelidonii herba. It was demonstrated that the 2D-Q-NMR NMR can be applied as an alternative method. While maintaining the same levels of accuracy and precision, the 2D-Q-NMR method is simpler to operate and provides more comprehensive results with higher reproducibility in some cases.

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•D-Q-NMR are used for the quantification of Chelidonii herba.•D-Q-NMR demonstrates consistency with HPLC in terms of quantitative reliability.•D-Q-NMR allows for the overall quantification of alkaloids.

D-Q-NMR are used for the quantification of Chelidonii herba.

D-Q-NMR demonstrates consistency with HPLC in terms of quantitative reliability.

D-Q-NMR allows for the overall quantification of alkaloids.