DEVELOPMENT OF ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES FOR TOXIC COMPOUNDS DETERMINATION, QUALITY ASSESSMENT AND METABOLOMIC STUDIES OF HERBAL MEDICINES

Abstract

In this dissertation, efforts were dedicated to the study of toxic compounds determination, quality assessment and metabolic effects of herbal medicines by various analytical techniques. Firstly, the extraction and determination of the hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in comfrey by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was studied. Furthermore, a green and effective approach for quality assessment of chrysanthemum by pressurized hot water extraction in combination with HPLC/UV was proposed, and it allowed for the classification and discrimination of various chrysanthemums of different species, provenance, etc. Finally, a combination of GC/MS and 1H NMR was used to provide a comprehensive picture of the metabolic profiles of the liver, serum, heart and kidney samples associated with the weight loss and cholesterol lowering effects of berberine in the liver of hypercholesterolemic rats. In order to study the berberine effect more deeply, an unprecedented multi-analytical metabolomic and metallomic approach was developed.