OBJECTIVE To optimize the water extraction process of Flos Lonicerae-Fructus Forsythuae and determine the range of water extraction process parameters.
METHODS The active components were screened by network pharmacology, and the indicator ingredients were determined in combination with the quality markers under the relevant terms of Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020 edition and the literature. Take extraction yield and the extraction rate of the indicative component as the critical quality attributes of the water extraction process to screen critical process parameters. The mathematical model was established by Box-Behnken experimental design to investigate the interaction between CQAs and CPPs and build the design space of the water extraction process of Flos Lonicerae-Fructus Forsythuae.
RESULTS The extraction percentages of phenolic acids, forsythoside A and forsythin were screened as the index components; specifications of medicinal slices, extraction time and water addition were the key process parameters. Based on the establishment and optimization of the design space, the optimum water extraction process was obtained as follows: the medicinal slice of Lian-Qiao was broken into 0.8-1.2 cm, adding 12 times the amount of water in the first and extract for 30-50 min, 10 times the amount of water in the second and extract for 25-30 min.
CONCLUSION The verification results show that the measured value obtained by using the design space method to optimize the water extraction process is close to the predicted value, indicating that the method is stable and reliable, which can provide ideas for its further process development and quality control for the couple medicines of Flos Lonicerae-Fructus Forsythuae.
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