Study on the correlation of fingerprints of Ardisia japonica pieces-standard decoction-formula granules and determination of multicomponent content

Ardisia japonica (Thunb.) Blume (AJ) is a traditional folk medicinal herb widely used in southern China. The main chemical constituents are flavonoids, catechins, phenolic acids, isocoumarins, etc., which have antitussive, expectorant, antiasthmatic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and other effects. Its quality is affected by many factors. It is a challenging task to develop appropriate quality standards. Therefore, a simple and efficient high-performance liquid chromatography method was used to analyze the fingerprint of AJ, and 10 key components were quantitatively analyzed. Similarity analysis, hierarchical clustering analysis, principal component analysis, orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis and other chemometric methods were used to comprehensively evaluate AJ samples and identify key components. In the quantitative analysis, all the calibration curves showed a good linear relationship within the detection range (r > 0.9990). The average recovery was between 86.64% and 109.67%, and the RSD of repeatability, precision and stability was below 2.87%. We established the UPLC fingerprint of AJ decoction pieces → standard decoction → formula granules and quantified the ten typical peaks. PCA and HCA grouped all 35 batches of pieces, whereas most standard decoctions and formula granules formed a separate cluster. The results showed that the method was simple, accurate and effective, which provided a valuable reference for the comprehensive quality evaluation of AJ formula granules.