By preparing 10 batches of the material reference of Linggui Zhugan Decoction,the methodology of the characteristic spectrum of the material reference was created. The creaming rate range,the contents and the transfer rate range of cinnamaldehyde,glycyrrhizin and glycyrrhizic acid,the characteristic peaks and the similarity range of the characteristic spectrum of Linggui Zhugan Decoction were determined to clarify key quality attributes of the material reference of Linggui Zhugan Decoction. In the 10 batches of the material reference of Linggui Zhugan Decoction,the similarity of characteristic spectrum was higher than 0. 9. Furthermore,after summarizing the characteristic peak information,we knew that Fuling had two characteristic peaks,Guizhi had six characteristic peaks,Baizhu had two characteristic peaks and Gancao had 11 characteristic peaks. The average creaming rate of the material reference of the ten batches was( 12. 13 ± 0. 35) %. The average content of cinnamaldehyde was 0. 32%,the average transfer rate was 10. 69%,the content of cinnamaldehyde in the different batches was between 0. 22% and 0. 42%,and the transfer rate was between 7. 48% and13. 90%. The average content of glycyrrhizin was 0. 84%,the average transfer rate was 50. 39%,the content of glycyrrhizin in the different batches was between 0. 42% and 1. 26%,and the transfer rate was between 35. 27% and 65. 51%. The average content of glycyrrhizic was 1. 88%,the average transfer rate was 40. 74%,the content of glycyrrhizic in the different batches was between 0. 94% and2. 82%,and the transfer rate was between 28. 52% and 52. 96%. In this paper,the quality value transmitting of substance benchmarks of Linggui Zhugan Decoction was analyzed by the combination of characteristic spectrum,creaming rate and the content of index component. A scientific and stable method was preliminarily established,which provided scientific basis for the quality control and formulation development of Linggui Zhugan Decoction.
Keywords: Linggui Zhugan Decoction; characteristic spectrum; classical prescriptions; quality value transmitting; substance benchmarks.