Establishment and Selection of Indicator Materials for Cervi Parvum Cornu Pharmacopuncture

Background Recently, Cervi Parvum Cornu pharmacopuncture has been widely used. But no studies on the indicator materials for Cervi Parvum Cornu pharmacopuncture have been conducted. The aim of this study was to select indicator materials that would aid in the uniform preparation of standardized Cervi Parvum Cornu pharmacopuncture. Methods Three lots of Cervi Parvum Cornu pharmacopuncture were analysed. Each lot was prepared using the same methods and materials. Chondroitin sulfate, alanine, and leucine were selected as the indicator materials for Cervi Parvum Cornu. For standardization, chondroitin sulfate analysis was performed using the colorimetric method, while alanine and leucine were analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Results Analysis of the three lots of Cervi Parvum Cornu pharmacopuncture found chondroitin sulfate levels of 108.9 ± 17.3 ug/ml, 118.8 ± 5.0 ug/ml and 112.3 ± 11.9 ug/ml. Alanine levels were 44.9 ± 2.8 ug/ml, 44.6 ± 0.3 ug/ml, and 43.9 ± 0.2 ug/ml. Leucine levels were 29.6 ± 0.7 ug/ml, 29.0 ± 0.1 ug/ml, and 29.4 ± 0.1 ug/ml. Conclusions These results suggest that chondroitin sulfate, alanine, and leucine may be useful for the standardization of Cervi Parvum Cornu pharmacopuncture.