IDENTIFICATION OF WESTERN MEDICINES AS ADULTERANTS IN CHINESE HERBAL MEDICINES USING A BROAD-SPECTRUM DRUG SCREENING HPLC SYSTEM

Analysis of herbal medicines is a difficult task because of the complexity and variety of the available formulations. Identification of adulterants in herbal medicines poses an even greater challenge to the laboratories which are required to conduct a routine surveillance program. There is no single broad spectrum screening method which will be able to screen all non-herbal medicine in a single run. However, it is logical to identify a few broad spectrum screening methods in order to cover the most frequently encountered drugs. REMEDi HS, a commercial system, has been evaluated for screening the neutral and basic synthetic medicines as adulterants in the herbal medicines. The system utilizes an on-line sample purification and cleaning procedures, and it requires minimal sample pre-treatment. The library used during this study contained 555 drugs and metabolites. Diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, sulpiride, etenzamide, caffeine and metoclopramide were identified in the five herbal medicines submitted from consumer. The latter four medicines have not been reported before as adulterants in herbal medicines. All results were confirmed by GC/MS.