Fingerprint–efficacy study of Radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata (Fuzi) in quality control of Chinese herbal medicine

For quality control of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), an attempt on fingerprint–efficacy study of Radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata (Fuzi) was developed in this paper. The fingerprints of Fuzi from various sources were determined by UPLC and hierarchical clustering analysis. Some quantitative thermo-kinetic parameters such as the heat-flow maximum power (Pmax) and its time corresponding to tmax, which obtained from the thermogenic curves of mitochondria metabolic activity affected by Fuzi were analyzed using principal component analysis. The fingerprint–efficacy relationship of chemical fingerprint and promoting effect of Fuzi were established using canonical correlation analysis. Our results showed that the sources and places of production of Fuzi had some significant influence on the chemical fingerprints and promoting metabolic effects of this CHM. Fingerprint–efficacy study provided a powerful way and some references for the quality control of Fuzi and other CHMs.