紫草

English text reference: Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2020 Edition)

Overview

Arnebia Root is the dried root of Arnebia euchroma (Royle) Johnst. or Arnebia guttata Bunge (Fam. Boraginaceae). The drug is collected in spring and autumn, removed from soil and sand, and dried.

Description

Xinjiang Arnebia Root（soft Arnebia Root）

Irregularly elongated cylindrical, often twisted, 7-20cm long, 1-2.5cm in diameter. The surface is purple-red or purple-brown, the cortex is loose, in the form of strip-shaped pieces, often overlapped in more than 10 layers, and easily peeled off. Some remnants of divergent stems can be seen at the top. It is light in weight, soft in texture, easily broken, with an uneven fracture surface, a small amount of wood, and yellowish-white or yellow in color. It has a peculiar odor, slightly bitter and astringent taste.

Inner Mongolia Arnebia Root

Conical or cylindrical, twisted, 6-20cm long, 0.5-4cm in diameter. The root head is slightly thick, with one or more remnants of stems at the top, covered with short and hard hairs. The surface is purple-red or dark purple, the cortex is slightly thin, often overlapped in several layers, and easily peeled off. It is hard and brittle in texture, easily broken, with a relatively neat fracture surface, purple-red cortex, a small amount of wood, and yellowish-white in color. It has a peculiar odor and astringent taste.

Identification

（1）The powder is deep purple-red. Non-glandular hairs are single-celled, with a diameter of 13-56μm, and the base is enlarged into a trumpet shape. The wall has longitudinal fine stripes, and some cell cavities contain purple-red pigments. The cork cells are reddish-brown, and the surface appears polygonal or circular polygonal, containing purple-red pigments. There are more thin-walled cells, which are light brown or colorless, and most of them are filled with purple-red pigments. The main vessels are reticulate vessels, and there are few vessels with pitted vessels, with a diameter of 7-110μm.

（2）Take 0.5g of the powder, add 20ml of petroleum ether (60-90°C), and sonicate for 20 minutes. Filter and concentrate the filtrate to 1ml as the test solution. Take another 0.5g of the reference drug of Arnebia Root and prepare the reference drug solution by the same method. Carry out the method for thin layer chromatography <0502>, using silica gel G as the coating substance and a mixture of cyclohexane-toluene-ethyl acetate-formic acid (5:5:0.5:0.1) as the mobile phase. Apply separately to the plate 4μl of each of the above two solutions. After developing and removal of the plate, dry in air. The chromatogram obtained with the test solution shows the same purple-red spots at the corresponding positions as those obtained with the reference drug solution; spray with a 10% solution of potassium hydroxide in methanol, and the spots turn blue.

Examination

Water

Not more than 15.0 per cent <0832,method 2>.

Assay

Total hydroxynaphthoquinone pigments

Take an appropriate amount of the sample, dry it at 50°C for 3 hours, crush it (through a No. 3 sieve), take about 0.5g, accurately weigh it, place it in a 100ml volumetric flask, add ethanol to the mark, shake it constantly within 4 hours, and filter it. Accurately take 5ml of the filtrate, place it in a 25ml volumetric flask, add ethanol to the mark, shake it well. According to the ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometric method <0401>, measure the absorbance at a wavelength of 516nm, and calculate it based on the molar absorption coefficient (ε) of shikonin (C16H16O5) as 242.

The content of total hydroxynaphthoquinone pigments in this product, calculated as shikonin (C16H16O5), shall not be less than 0.80%.

β,β'-Dimethylacryloyl arbutin

Determined by high performance liquid chromatography <0512>.

Chromatographic conditions and system suitability test

Using octadecylsilane bonded silica gel as the filler; using acetonitrile-water-formic acid (70:30:0.05) as the mobile phase; detecting wavelength at 275nm. The theoretical plate number calculated based on the peak of β,β'-dimethylacryloyl arbutin should not be less than 2000.

Prepare a solution of the reference substance

Take an appropriate amount of β,β'-dimethylacryloyl arbutin reference substance, accurately weigh it, add ethanol to make a solution containing 0.1mg per ml.

Prepare a solution of the test sample

Take about 0.5g of the powder of the sample (through a No. 4 sieve), accurately weigh it, place it in a stoppered conical flask, accurately add 25ml of petroleum ether (60-90°C), weigh it, treat it with ultrasound (power 250W, frequency 33kHz) for 30 minutes, let it cool, weigh it again, make up for the weight loss with petroleum ether (60-90°C), shake it well, and filter it. Accurately take 10ml of the filtrate, evaporate it to dryness, dissolve the residue in the mobile phase, transfer it to a 10ml volumetric flask, add the mobile phase to the mark, shake it well, filter it, and take the filtrate.

Determination method

Accurately take 10μl of the solution of the reference substance and the test sample solution, inject them into the liquid chromatograph, and determine them.

Calculated on the dried product, the content of β,β'-dimethylacryloyl arbutin (C21H22O6) shall not be less than 0.30%.

Prepared slices

Xinjiang Arnebia Root

Processing

Remove impurities, cut into thick slices or sections.

Slices of Xinjiang Arnebia Root

It is irregular cylindrical slices or strip-shaped slices with a diameter of 1-2.5cm. Purple-red or purple-brown. The bark is deep purple. The cylindrical slices have a smaller wood part, which is yellow-white or yellow.

Identification

Same as the crude drug.

Examination

Same as the crude drug.

Assay

Same as the crude drug.

Inner Mongolia Arnebia Root

Processing

Remove impurities, wash, soften, cut into thin slices, and dry.

Slices of Inner Mongolia Arnebia Root

It is irregular cylindrical slices or strip-shaped slices, some of which may have short hard hairs, with a diameter of 0.5-4cm, hard and brittle. Purple-red or purple-brown. The bark is deep purple. The cylindrical slices have a smaller wood part, which is yellow-white or yellow.

Identification

Same as the crude drug.

Examination

Same as the crude drug.

Assay

Same as the crude drug.

Property

Cold.

Flavor

Sweet and salty.

Meridian tropism

Heart and Liver meridians.

Actions

Clear heat and cool blood, activate blood circulation and detoxify, promote eruption and eliminate spots.

Indications

Used for excessive heat and toxicity in the blood, dark purple spots, measles that do not erupt, sores, eczema, scalds.

Dosage

5-10g. For external use, use an appropriate amount.

Administration

Make a decoction or soak in vegetable oil for topical application.

Storage

Store in a dry place.

紫草

Text reference: Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2015 Edition)

Overview

Arnebia Root is the dried root of Arnebia euchroma (Royle)Johnst. or Arnebia guttata Bunge (Fam. Boraginaceae). The drug is collected in spring or autumn, removed from soil, and dried.

Description

呈不规则的长圆柱形，多扭曲，长7～20cm，直径1～2.5cm。表面紫红色或紫褐色，皮部疏松，呈条形片状，常10余层重叠，易剥落。顶端有的可见分歧的茎残基。体轻，质松软，易折断，断面不整齐，木部较小，黄白色或黄色。气特异，昧微苦、涩。

呈圆锥形或圆柱形，扭曲，长6～20cm，直径0.5～4cm。根头部略粗大，顶端有残茎1或多个，被短硬毛。表面紫红色或暗紫色，皮部略薄，常数层相叠，易剥离。质硬而脆，易折断，断面较整齐，皮部紫红色，木部较小，黄白色。气特异，味涩。

Identification

（2）取本品粉末0.5g，加石油醚（60～90℃）20ml，超声处理20分钟，滤过，滤液浓缩至1ml，作为供试品溶液。另取紫草对照药材0.5g，同法制成对照药材溶液。照薄层色谱法（通则0502）试验，吸取两种溶液各4μl，分别点于同一硅胶G薄层板上，以环己烷-甲苯-乙酸乙酯-甲酸（5：5：0.5：0.1）为展开剂，展开，取出，晾干。供试品色谱中，在与对照药材色谱相应的位置上，显相同的紫红色斑点；再喷以10%氢氧化钾甲醇溶液，斑点变为蓝色。

Examination

Water

Not more than 15.0 per cent <0832,method 2>.

Assay

Total pigments of hydroxynaphthaquinone

Weigh accurately 0.5g of the powder (through No.3 sieve), previously dried at 50℃ for 3 hours, to a 100 ml volumetric flask, add ethanol to volume, shake constantly for 4 hours, filter, measure accurately 5 ml of the successive filtrate to a 25 ml volumetric flask, dilute with ethanol to volume and mix well. Carry out the method for ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry<0401>, measure the absorbance at 516 nm, calculate the content of shikonin (Cl6H16O5), taking 242 as the value of A(1%,1 cm).

β,β'-Dimethylacrylalkanin

Carry out the method for high performance liquid chromatography<0512>.

以十八烷基硅烷键合硅胶为填充剂；以乙腈-水-甲酸（70：30：0.05）为流动相；检测波长为275nm。理论板数按β-β′-二甲基丙烯酰阿卡宁峰计算应不低于2000。

取β-β′-二甲基丙烯酰阿卡宁对照品适量，精密称定，加乙醇制成每1ml含0.1mg的溶液，即得。

取本品粉末（过四号筛）约0.5g，精密称定，置具塞锥形瓶中，精密加入石油醚（60～90℃）25ml，称定重量，超声处理（功率250W，频率33kHz）30分钟，放冷，再称定重量，用石油醚（60～90℃）补足减失的重量，摇匀，滤过。精密量取续滤液10ml，蒸干，残渣加流动相溶解，转移至10ml量瓶中，加流动相至刻度，摇匀，滤过，取续滤液，即得。

分别精密吸取对照品溶液与供试品溶液各10μl，注入液相色谱仪，测定，即得。

It contains not less than 0.30 per cent of β,β'-dimethylacrylalkanin(C16H16O5), calculated with reference to the dried drug.

Prepared slices

Processing

除去杂质，切厚片或段。

除去杂质，洗净，润透，切薄片，干燥。

为不规则的圆柱形切片或条形片状，直径1～2.5cm。紫红色或紫褐色。皮部深紫色。圆柱形切片，木部较小，黄白色或黄色。

为不规则的圆柱形切片或条形片状，有的可见短硬毛，直径0.5～4cm，质硬而脆。紫红色或紫褐色。皮部深紫色。圆柱形切片，木部较小，黄白色或黄色。

Property and Flavor

Cold; sweet, salty.

Actions

To clear heat, cool the blood, activate blood, remove toxin, promote eruption and resolve macule.

Administration and dosage

5-10 g; Appropriate amount for topical application, boiled into paste or soaked in plant oil for topical application.

Storage

Preserve in a dry place.