| Item | Pharmacopoeia standards |
| Preparation method | Remove impurities from Polygonum multiflorum, wash, soak slightly, moisturize thoroughly, cut into thick slices or pieces. Mix he shou wu slices or small blocks with decoction of black soybean thoughly according to the stewing method (general rule 0213), place it in a suitable container of nonferrous material, and stew until the juice is completely absorbed; or according to the steaming method (general rule 0213), steam or mix with decoction of black soybean then steam until he shou wu turns to brown in color inside and outside, or suntan it until half dry, slice and dry it. For every 100kg of Polygonum multiflorum tablets (pieces), 10kg of black beans are required. The black bean juice is made by taking 10kg black beans, adding proper amount of water and boiling for about 4 hours to obtain about 15kg black bean juice. The filtered bean dregs are added with water and boiled for another 3 hours to obtain about 10kg black bean juice. When combined twice, about 25kg black bean juice can be obtained. |
| Apperance of he shou wu and prepared he shou wu | He shou wu is an irregular thick piece or slices. The outer skin is reddish brown or reddish brown, with uneven folds and shallow grooves, as well as transverse long lenticular protrusions and fine root scars. The cut surface is light yellow brown or light red brown, showing a powdery appearance; On the transverse section, some skin parts can be seen with cloud brocade shaped patterns, and the central wood part is larger, while others are shaped like a wood core. Slightly fragrant, slightly bitter and sweet in taste. Prepared he shou wu is usually irregularly wrinkled pieces, with a thickness of about 1cm. The surface is black brown or brownish brown, uneven. The texture is hard, with a keratin like cross-section, brown or black in color. Slightly fragrant and bitter in taste. |
| Identification | Take 0.25g of prepared he shou wu powder as the sample, add 50ml of ethanol, heat and reflux for 1 hour, filter, and concentrate the filtrate to 3ml as the test solution. Take 0.25g of prepared he shou wu reference material and prepare a reference material solution u sing the same method. According to the thin layer chromatography method (General Rule 0502), pipette 2μl of each of the above two solutions. Point them on the bottom edge of the same silica gel H thin layer plate which use sodium carboxymethyl cellulose as the adhesive agent. Immerse the plate in developing tank that filled with developing agent (mixture of Trichloromethane and methanol in 7:3 ratio), take the plate out and dry it in the air after the pointed solution goes up to 3.5cm from the original position. Take the plate out and air dry it. Then develop it in another developing agent which is made of Trichloromethane and methanol in 20:1 ratio. Till pointed solution goes up to about 7 cm from the original position, then take it out and dry it again. Test the sample and reference under ultraviolet light (365nm). Sample solvents and reference solvents show the same color spots in the same position of plate lanes. This will indicate that the samples submitted are prepared he shou wu and are consistent with the reference method documentation. |
| Detection | He shou wu The moisture content shall not exceed 10.0% (General Rule 0832, Second Method). The total ash content shall not exceed 5.0% (General Rule 2302). The residual amount of sulfur dioxide shall be determined according to the determination method of sulfur dioxide residual amount (General Rule 2331), and shall not exceed 150mg/kg. Prepared he shou wu The moisture content shall not exceed 12.0% (General Rule 0832, Second Method). The total ash content shall not exceed 9.0% (General Rule 2302). The residual amount of sulfur dioxide shall be determined according to the determination method of sulfur dioxide residual amount (General Rule 2331), and shall not exceed 150mg/kg |
| Extract | The prepared he shou wu should be determined by the hot leaching method under the alcohol soluble extract determination method (General Rule 2201), using ethanol as the solvent, and the extract should not be less than 5.0%. |
| Components assay | Diphenylene glycoside content, operates in a dark environment. Take about 0.2g of prepared he shou wu powder (sieved through the 4# sieve), accurately weigh it, and measure it according to the method under Polygonum multiflorum medicinal material [content determination]. This product is calculated as a dry product and contains no less than 0.70% of 2,3,5,4 ‘- tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-p-D-glucoside (C20H2209). Free quinone, determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (Appendix VI D). Chromatographic conditions and system suitability test: Using octadecane silane bonded silica gel as the filling agent; Using methanol 0.1% phosphoric acid solution (80:20) as the mobile phase; The detection wavelength is 254nm. The number of theoretical boards should not be less than 3000 based on the peak of rhubarb. Preparation of reference solution: Take an appropriate amount of emodin reference substance and emodin methyl ether reference substance, accurately weigh them. Add methanol to produce the solution that 1ml of it containing 80μg of emodin and the solution that 1ml of it containing of 40μg of emodin methyl. The reference solutions are made. Preparation of the test solution: Take approximately 1 gram of the prepared he shou wu powder of this product (sieved through a fourth sieve), weigh it accurately, place it in a conical flask with a stopper, add 50ml of methanol accurately, weigh it, heat and reflux for 1 hour, take it out, let it cool, weigh it again, use methanol to make up for the lost weight, shake it well, filter it, and take the filtrate again as the final solution. Determination method: Precisely aspirate 10μl of the reference solution and 10μl of the test solution respectively. Inject into a liquid chromatograph, observe and then test it. This product is calculated as a dry product and contains free anthraquinone. The total amount of emodin (C15H1005) and emodin methyl ether (C16H12O5) should not be less than 0.10%. |
| The nature, taste, and its meridian | Bitter, sweet, astringent, slightly warm. converges to live, heart, and kidney meridians. |
| Function and Indications | He shou wu: detoxify, treat boils, interrupt malaria, moisten intestines and relieve constipation. Used for ulcerative carbuncle, scrofula, itchy wind papules, chronic malaria deficiency, constipation due to intestinal dryness. Prepared he shou wu: tonify the liver and kidney, nourish essence and blood, promote gray beard and hair, strengthen muscles and bones, dissolve turbidity and lower lipids. Used for blood deficiency and chlorosis, dizziness and tinnitus, early whitening of beard and hair, soreness and weakness of the waist and knees, limb numbness, uterine bleeding and morbid leukorrhea, and hyperlipidemia. |
| Dosage in Traditional Chinese Medicine | He shou wu 3-6grams. Prepared he shou wu 6-12grams. |
| Retest period | 36 months. |
| Storage | Store in a dry place and prevent moths. |
Record of Prepared He Shou Wu(Polygonum multiflorum)in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2015 edition, Part 1)
October 27, 2023