For the identification of the crud drug Polygoni Multitlori Radix, the Standard of Crude Drugs of Japanese Pharmacopeia uses emodin as the indicative substance. Recently, 2,3,5,4'-Tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-Glucoside, a bioactive compound from this herb has attracted general attention. In this paper, we examined three compounds 2,3,5,4'-Tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-Glucoside, emodin, and physcion as the indicative substances by means of HPLC analysis. We also determined their quantities in the commercial articles containing this herb. Among thirteen samples of the commercial Polygoni Multiflori Radix, the contents of 2,3,5,4'-Tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-Glucoside varied greatly, reanging between 0.002 and 0.194%. Another five samples of Polygoni Multiflori Radix extracted powder, the contents of 2,3,5,4'-Tetrahydroxystilbene-2-0-Glucoside fell between 0.016 and 0.544%. Whereas the contents of emodin and physcion ranged between 0.002 and 0.077% in all samples except in the three crud herb samples (No.11-13) where their contents were below 0.001%.
For the identification of the crud drug Polygoni Multitlori Radix, the Standard of Crude Drugs of Japanese Pharmacopeia uses emodin as the indicative substance. Recently, 2,3,5,4'-Tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-Glucoside, a bioactive compound from this herb has attracted general attention. In this paper, we examined three compounds 2,3,5,4'-Tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-Glucoside, emodin, and physcion as the indicative substances by means of HPLC analysis. We also determined their quantities in the commercial articles containing this herb. Among thirteen samples of the commercial Polygoni Multiflori Radix, the contents of 2,3,5,4'-Tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-Glucoside varied greatly, reanging between 0.002 and 0.194%. Another five samples of Polygoni Multiflori Radix extracted powder, the contents of 2,3,5,4'-Tetrahydroxystilbene-2-0-Glucoside fell between 0.016 and 0.544%. Whereas the contents of emodin and physcion ranged between 0.002 and 0.077% in all samples except in the three crud herb samples (No.11-13) where their contents were below 0.001%.