Qualitative and Quantitative Evaluation of Chemical Constituents from Shuanghuanglian Injection Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Abstract

By employing nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), we implemented a chemical research on Shuanghuanglian injection (SHLI) and identified 17 components, including eight primary metabolites and nine secondary metabolites. Guided by the approach of network pharmacology, the potential activities were briefly predicted for seven primary metabolites except for formic acid, such as anti-inflammation, antioxidation, and cardiovascular protection. The focused primary metabolites were quantified by a proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) method, which was verified with good linearity and satisfactory precision, repeatability, stability, and accuracy (except for myo-inositol with mean recovery at 135.78%). Based on the successfully established method, seven primary metabolites were effectively quantified with a slight fluctuation in 20 batches of SHLIs. The average total content of these compounds was 6.85 mg/mL, accounting for 24.84% in total solid of SHLI. This research provides an alternative method for analysis of primary metabolites and contributes to the quality control of SHLI.