Chinese J. of Health Industry (4), 99-101 (2012). Guangdong Achyranthes aspera, a herbal TCM drug, is the dried root of Eupatorium chinense L. which is used for the treatment of laryngeal diseases. Achyranthes aspera, another traditional Chinese herbal crude drug, is the dried root of Achyranthes aspera L. It has a similar shape and properties as Guangdong Achyranthes aspera, but contains different active constituents and is used for the treatment of colds and fever. The drugs should not be confounded. Development of a method for the differentiation of both drugs. TLC of the extracts of the crude drugs on silica gel with diethyl ether – n-hexane 2:1, detection by spraying with 5 % phosphomolybdic acid in ethanol and heating at 105 °C until the zones are visible, evaluation at UV 366 nm. In addition to TLC the drugs are differentiated by microscopy of the dried drug powders and the cross sections of the fresh samples.

J. Planar Chromatogr. 26, 26-30 (2013). Four new spray reagents for the detection of amino acids were introduced: (1) 0.25 % solution of benzoic acid in ethanol, (2) 0.1 % solution of p-fluorobenzoic acid in ethanol, (3) 0.1% solution of p-chlorobenzoic acid in ethanol and (4) 0.05 % solution of p-iodobenzoic acid in ethanol. Depending on the different amino acids tested the LOD on silica gel was in the range of 0.1-1.0 µg for all four reagents. For example for cysteine the LOD was 0.1 µg with reagents (1), (3), and (4), and 0.2 µg with reagent (2).

J. Planar Chromatogr. 26, 67-72 (2013). HPTLC of bacitracin derivative on silica gel with n-butanol - 2-butanone - 25 % ammonia - water 10:5:2:2. Quantitative determination by absorbance measurement at 460 nm. Linearity was in the range of 0.09-0.85 ng for bacitracine. LOD and LOQ were 9 ng/zone and 26 ng/zone, respectively. Intermediate precision was below 2.47 %. Comparable results with those obtained by spectrophotometric method.

J. Liq. Chromatogr. Relat. Technol. 36, 1231-1242 (2013). HPTLC of melitracen (1) and flupentixol (2) in combined dosage form on silica gel with methanol - toluene 4:1+1 drop ammonia. Quantitative determination by absorbance measurement at 270 nm. The hRf values of (1) and (2) were 79 and 88, respectively. Linearity was in the range of 1000-8000 ng/zone for (1) and 50-400 ng/zone for (2). LOD and LOQ were 225 and 683 ng/zone for (1) and 4.7 and 14.1 ng/zone for (2). Intermediate precision was below 3.6 %. Recovery (by standard addition) for (1) and (2) was in the range of 98.6-102.1 % and 97.8-101.8 %, respectively.

Chinese J. of Med. Guide 2 (9), 109-110 (2012). Coptis chinensis is a herbal TCM drug for relieving internal heat or fever. High speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC) is frequently applied to analyse the alkaloids of Coptis chinensis. To optimize the solvent system of HSCCC the method for determination of the partition coefficient of Coptis chinensis alkaloids was done by TLC and fluorescence spectrophotometry. The major alkaloids are coptisine, berberine, palmatine and epiberberine. The crude drug was extracted with ethanol and contained 9.2 % coptisine, 18.5 % berberine, 4.0 % palmatine and 3.5 % epiberberine. TLC on silica gel with cyclohexane – ethyl acetate – isopropanol – methanol – water – triethylamine 6:7:2:3:1 with chamber saturation for 20 min with ammonia vapors, detection at UV 366 nm. The zones were quantitatively scraped off the layer and eluted with ethanol for fluorescence spectrophotometry at UV 366 nm. Quantification by external standard calibration over the linearity range of 0.5-2.5 g/L for coptisine, berberine and epiberberine with standard addition recovery of 98.3 % (%RSD = 1.9 %, n=6), 95.3 % (%RSD = 3.4 %, n=6), 103.9 % (%RSD = 2.6 %, n=6), respectively; and 1.0-3.0 g/L for palmatine with standard addition recovery of 97.6 % (%RSD = 3.7 %, n=6). Calculation of the partition coefficient, i.e. the ratio of observed values of the analytes from the two phases, respectively, with the results for coptisine 2.20, berberine 0.29, palmatine 0.21 and epiberberine 0.61.

Chinese J. of Med. Guide 8 (11), 134-135 (2012). Chuankezhi injection is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb preparation with Radix Morindae officinalis as the key active component. It is effective for tonifying kidney, relieving cough, regulation of immune function, and is prescribed clinically to cure asthma,and capillary bronchitis. Development of a method for the quality control of the preparation. TLC of the extracts of the preparations on silica gel with n-butanol – ethanol – water 5:4:1, detection by spraying with a solution of 1.5 g a-naphthol in ethanol – water – sulfuric acid 50:4:13 and heating at 105 °C.

Chinese J. of Med. Guide 10 (34), 113-114 (2012). Zhitongfengshi pills are a herbal TCM for treating numbness of limbs and rheumatic pain. For quality conterol TLC on silica gel 1) for Fructus Gardeniae, with ethyl acetate – acetone – formic acid – water 20:14:4:1, detection by spraying with 13 % sulfuric acid in ethanol and heating mildly, viewing in daylight; 2) for Cortex Phellodendri Chinensis,with n-butanol – formic acid – water 75:16:9, detection under UV 366 nm; 3) for Radix Scutellariae, with ethyl acetate – acetone – acetic acid – water 12:6:4:3, detection by spraying with 1.5 % ferric chloride in ethanol and viewing in daylight; 4) for Radix Clematidis, with toluene - ethyl acetate – glacial acetic acid 100:15:1, detection by spraying with 15 % sulfuric acid in ethanol and heating mildly, viewing in daylight.

J. of Qilu Med. & Pharm. 31 (4), 574-576 (2012). Fufang Jugeng Mahuangjian Tangjiang syrup ll is a herbal TCM preparation for treating cough caused by asthmatic bronchitis. For quality control and to guarantee the safty and effectiveness of the medicine, TLC on silica gel 1) for ephedrine hydrochloride, with n-butanol – formic acid – water 4:1:5, detection by spraying with 0.2 % ninhydrin in acetone and heating at 105 °C, viewing in daylight; 2) for Platycodon grandiflorus, with chloroform – diethyl ether 1:1, detection by spraying with 10 % sulfuric acid in ethanol and heating at 105 °C, viewing in daylight.