Chinese J. of Ethnomed. & Ethnopharm. 20, 30-32 (2012). Inula nervosa Wall is a herbal TCM drug with anti rheumatism effects. It is frequently used as key component in herbal TCM preparations for the treatment of rheumatism. For quality control, TLC of the volatile oil (obtained by steam distillation of the crude drug) diluted 1:100 with acetone, and the standards thymol and thymyl isobutyrate, on homemade layers (coated using a slurry of silica gel in 1 % NaOH solution), with cyclohexane – toluene 3:4, detection by spraying with 5 % vanillin in sulfuric acid – ethanol 1:200 and heating at 105 °C until the zones are visible in daylight.

Chinese J. of Med. Guide 11 (16), 509-510 (2013). Zhixie Baotong Keli granules are a herbal TCM preparation for the treatment of dysentery, abdominal pain, dry mouth, nausea, and vomiting. For quality control, TLC on silica gel 1) for Tetradium ruticarpum, with cyclohexane – ethyl acetate – methanol – triethylamine 15:5:1:1, detection by spraying with 10 % sulfuric acid in ethanol and heating at 105 °C for 4 min and viewing under UV 366 nm; 2) for Pogostemon cablin, with petroleum ether (60-90 °C) – ethyl acetate 19:2, detection by spraying with 1 % vanillin in sulfuric acid – ethanol 1:4 and heating at 105 °C until the zones are visible in daylight; 3) for Fructus Amomi and the standard bornyl acetate, with cyclohexane – ethyl acetate 22:1, detection by spraying with 5 % vanillin in sulfuric acid – ethanol 1:4 and heating at 105 °C until the zones are visible in daylight.

Chinese J. of Inform. on TCM 19 (6), 55-57 (2012). Huayu Shengji Gao ointment is a herbal TCM preparation for treating pain of surgery wounds, burn ulcer, and fester. For quality control, TLC on silica gel for 1) Angelica sinensis, with n-butanol – ethyl acetate 9:1, detection under UV 366 nm; 2) for Lithospermum erythrorhizon, with cyclohexane – toluene – ethyl acetate – formic acid 50:50:5:1, detection in daylight; 3) for A. dahurica (Fisch.) Benth. et Hook, with petroleum ether (30-60 °C) – diethyl ether 3:2, detection under UV 366 nm. Quantification of ferulic acid by HPLC.

Chinese J. of Inform. on TCM 20 (3), 67-69 (2013). Zishen Jiaonang capsule is a herbal TCM effective in tonifying the liver and kidney, and is prescribed for premature ovarian failure, acute and chronic hepatitis, mastitis, sterility, etc. For quality control, HPTLC of the extracts of the preparation on silica gel 1) for Paeonia lactiflora Pall. and the standard paeoniflorin, with chloroform – methanol – water 14:6:1, detection by spraying with 5 % vanillin in sulfuric acid – ethanol 1:4 and heating at 105 °C until the zones are visible in daylight; 2) for Ziziphus jujuba Mill. Var. spinosa, with water-saturated n-butanol, detection under UV 366 nm; 3) for Lilium brownii var. viridulum with petroleum ether (60-90 °C) – ethyl acetate – formic acid 15:5:1, detection by spraying with 10 % phosphomolybdic acid hydrate in ethanol and heating mildly until the zones are visible in daylight; 4) for Caulis polygoni multiflori and the standard emodin, with n-hexane – ethyl acetate – formic acid 60:20:1, detection under UV 366 nm. Quantification of paeoniflorin by HPLC.

J. Planar Chromatogr. 27, 33-37 (2014). HPTLC of alpha-phellandrene (1) and beta-pinene (2) in Anethum graveolens L. on silica gel with ether - dichloromethane 3:7. Detection by spraying with vanillin reagent (15 g vanillin in 250 mL ethanol and 2.5 mL concentrated sulfuric acid), followed by heating at 120 °C. Quantitative determination by absorbance measurement at 600 nm. Linearity was in the range of 40-270 µg/zone for (1) and 100-360 µg/zone for (2). LOD and LOQ were 6.6 and 65.8 µg/zone for (1) and 12.9 and 88.7 µg/zone for (2), respectively. Recoveries were in the range of 95.2-98.8 % for (1) and 97.1-101.4 % for (2). Intermediate/interday/intra-day precision was below 4 % (n=6).

Inner Mongolian J. of Trad. Chinese Med. (23), 40-42 (2013). Weile Jiaonang capsule is herbal TCM for the treatment of gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, chronic gastritis, etc. For quality control, TLC on silica gel 1) for Bletilla striata, with petroleum ether (30-60 °C) - ethyl acetate - formic acid 15:5:1, detection under UV 366 nm; 2) for Fritillaria thunbergii Miq., with benzene – acetone 1:1, detection by spraying with a solution of 0.85 g basic bismuth nitrate in 10 mL glacial acetic acid and 40 mL water, evaluation in daylight; 3) for Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch., with petroleum ether (60-90 °C) – toluene – ethyl acetate – glacial acetic acid 20:40:14:1, detection by spraying with 5 % phosphomolybdic acid n-hydrate in ethanol and heating at 105 °C until the zones were visible in daylight. After quality authentication, the herbal TCM preparation was prescribed for 85 cases of patients to survey its efficacy. The results indicated that the preparation has significant effect towards the mentioned diseases, and that the method is suitable for the quality control.

J. Ethnopharmacol. 152, 292-301 (2014). HPTLC of extracts of Curcuma longa, Curcuma aromatica and Curcuma zanthorrhiza on silica gel with 1) toluene - acetic acid 4:1 (for curcuminoid determination), 2) acetonitrile - acetone - water 2:2:1 (sugars), and 3) dichloromethane (essential oils). Detection by dipping in anisaldehyde reagent (curcuminoid and essential oil systems) and aniline-diphenylamine-phosphoric acid (sugars) followed by heating at 100 °C, evaluation under white light and UV at 366 nm. Bis-demethoxycurcumin (hRF 18) was only present in Curcuma longa. The HPTLC results were compared with 1H-NMR spectroscopic analyses. The NMR analyses provided a sharper picture than HPTLC but only the combination of both methods enabled the authors of the study to understand both the general variability and the specific differences between the analyzed products.

J. Planar Chromatogr. 27, 346-356 (2014). HPTLC fingerprint of the leaves of Arctium lappa and Fagus sylvatica, herba of Epilobium hirsutum, Lythrum salicaria, and Artemisia dracunculoides; and fruits of Cydonia oblonga and leaves of Hippophae rhamnoides and Aronia melanocarpa on silica gel with ethyl acetate – acetic acid – formic acid – water 50:6:6:13 for flavonoid glycosides and chloroform – acetic acid – methanol – water 16:8:3:2 for saponins. Detection by immersion into natural product reagent followed by PEG 400 reagent. Qualitative identification at UV 366 nm.