Chemical interaction between Paeonia lactiflora and Glycyrrhiza uralensis, the components of Jakyakgamcho-tang, using a validated high-performance liquid chromatography method: herbal combination and chemical interaction in a decoction.

The herbal combination is the basic unit of a herbal formula that affects the chemical characteristics of individual herbs. In the present study, a method of simultaneous determination of the 11 marker compounds in Jakyakgamcho-tang was developed using high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection. The validated analytical method was successfully applied to approach the chemical interaction between Paeonia lactiflora and Glycyrrhiza uralensis in co-decoction. In P. lactiflora, the contents of gallic acid, oxypaeoniflorin, (+)-catechin, paeoniflorin, and benzoylpaeoniflorin were decreased, while those of albiflorin and benzoic acid were increased; in G. uralensis, the contents of liquiritin, isoliquiritin, ononin, and glycyrrhizin were decreased, when decocting two herbs together. Moreover, as the ratio between P. lactiflora and G. uralensis was increased, the contents of chemical contents from each herb were proportionally increased. However, each content of marker compound per the gram of herbal medicine was decreased as the ratio of combinative herbs increased. The results showed that P. lactiflora and G. uralensis affect the extraction efficiency of chemical compounds in a Jakyakgamcho-tang decoction. Overall, the method established in this study was simple, rapid, and accurate, and would be useful for the determination of marker compounds and for the investigation of the chemical interaction between herbal medicines.