Fingerprint Comparison Between Gegen Qinlian Preparations of Three Different Pharmaceutical Forms Including Decoction, Dispensing Granule and Pill

Gegen Qinlian decoction, a favorite composite formula of Chinese medicine, has been made into various formulations. Pill and dispensing granule are currently very popular dosage forms for oral application. To ensure consistent therapeutic effects, fingerprint comparison between Gegen Qinlian preparations of three pharmaceutical forms including decoction, dispensing granule and pill is carried out to investigate influence of dosage forms on patterns of components in the composite formula. The fingerprint analysis demonstrates that, in relationship to baicalin with its area set to 1, most of the area ratios of 20 common peaks in decoction and dispensing granule vary little except the area ratio of puerarin (0.805 in decoction vs. 0.593 in dispensing granule), berberine (0.400 in dispensing granule vs. 0.283 in decoction) and the peak of baicalein, which originally observed in dispensing granule decrease substantially in decoction. However, in pills the area ratios of the common peaks are significantly different from those in dispensing granule except for peak 29. The inconsistencies among patterns of components in three types of Gegen Qinlian preparations, especially between dispensing granule and pill, may result in different pharmacological effects.