Famous traditional formula Sanpian Decoction(SPD)comes from Dialectical Records of Chen Shiduo of the Qing Dynasty,and ranks among 100 classic prescriptions of Classic Famous Traditional Formula catalogue(the First Batch). SPD was prepared according to Management Standards for Traditional Chinese Medicine Decoction Room in Medical Institutions. According to the polarity of different components in SPD,two HPLC fingerprints were established, in which six herbs, namely Chuanxiong Rhizoma, Paeoniae Randix Alba, Sinapis Semen, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Pruni Semen, Angelicae Dahuricae Radix,are all reflected in the fingerprints; The dry extract rate, transfer rate and similarities of fingerprints were used as indicators to study the relationship between the quality value transmitting of medicinal herbs-decoction pieces-whole decoction of Chuanxiong Rhizoma. Experiment result shows that,the transfer rate of ferulic acid from medicinal herbs to decoction pieces is between 72.00% and 108.36%; the transfer rate of ferulic acid from decoction pieces to SPD is between 31.76% and 64.09%; the dry extract rate of the whole decoction is between 14.69% and 20.16%;The similarity range of fingerprint 1 of 15 batches of SPD is between 0.971 and 0.998, and the similarity range of fingerprint 2 is between 0.980 and 0.996. The established fingerprint has rich information,and the established quality evaluation method is suitable for the quality control of medicinal herbs-decoction pieces-whole decoction of Chuanxiong Rhizoma, which can provide a certain reference for developing the quality control evaluation method for formulated granules, famous formulae and other terminal products derived from traditional Chinese medicine decoction.
Keywords: Chuanxiong Rhizoma; Sanpian Decoction; decoction; famous traditional formula; fingerprint; quality value transmitting.