Chemical studies of panax notoginseng and related species and evaluation of potential antiplatelet and anticoagulant effects

Abstract

With increasing use of herbal medicines, assessment of their safety, quality and efficacy is important. Panax notoginseng is a highly-valued Chinese medicinal herb, available in two different formsa??raw and steamed. Due to their different clinical indications, using the wrong form may be undesirable. Quality control of this herb is hence paramount. The overall objectives are to develop methods for the quality control of P. notoginseng, and to study the effects of processing, namely, the chemical and biological differences between raw and steamed P. notoginseng. In this work, new analytical methods, both qualitative and quantitative, have been developed for raw and steamed P. notoginseng roots and products from different sources. Other related Panax species, P. ginseng and P. quinquefolium, were also analysed. Key marker compounds which differentiate the two forms were isolated and identified. Their haematological activities (platelet aggregation, blood coagulation, haemostasis) were also investigated in vitro and in vivo.