Objective:

2

The aim of this study was to investigate high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprint

anti-inflammatory activity as well as the correlation between them in Speranskiae Tuberculatae Herba.

Method:

2

Fingerprint by HPLC was established on Speranskiae Tuberculatae Herba from different sources. The common peaks were evaluated on the basis of similarity evaluation together with hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA). Ear swelling induced by xylene in mice model was used to study the anti-inflammatory activity. Grey relational analysis (GRA) and partial least square regression analysis (PLSR) were used to study the relationship between the HPLC fingerprint and the anti-inflammatory activity.

Result:

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The HPLC fingerprint of Speranskiae Tuberculatae Herba was established and 24 common peaks were determined

with the similarity above 0.907 (except for S2 and S5). Four peaks were identified by comparing to reference substances. The result of HCA showed that Speranskiae Tuberculatae Herba from different sources were clustered into four categories

in consistent with the result of PCA. Combined with discriminant analysis of partial least squares discrimination analysis (PLS-DA)

three signature compounds represented by 5

6

7 peaks were responsible for the differences between groups. Different sources of Speranskiae Tuberculatae Herba differed in anti-inflammatory activity. The sectrum-activity relationship showed that the peaks 1

4

5

6

and 10 were positively correlated with the anti-inflammatory activity.

Conclusion:

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The HPLC fingerprint of Speranskiae Tuberculatae Herba was established

and 5 components closely related to the anti-inflammatory activity were determined. The present study provide more comprehensive reference for quality control of the Speranskiae Tuberculatae Herba.