Investigation of the Transfer Rate of Zearalenone in Herbal Medicines to Their Decoction

The objective of this study was to establish an analytical method to detect zearalenone (ZEA) in herbal medicines and their decoctions and investigate the ZEA transfer rate from raw materials of herbal medicines to their decoctions. Herbal medicines (Trichosanthis Semenm, Eucommiae Cortex, Rubi Fructus) spiked with a known concentration of ZEA were presoaked or unsoaked (as a pretreatment) and boiled for 3 h at 100 o C or autoclaved for 1 h at 121 o C. The decoction and the remnants were separated, cleaned up with an immunoaffinity column, and analyzed using HPLC. Recoveries for decoctions and remnants were 68.39-83.68% and 72.91-80.25%, respectively. ZEA was not detected in the decoction, whereas it was found in the remnants. Although ZEA in the raw material of herbal medicines was not transferred into the decoction during heating and autoclaving, the continuous monitoring for ZEA in raw herbal medicines should be carried out for the safe ingestion and utilization of herbal medicines.