Integrated chemometric fingerprints of antioxidant activities and HPLC–DAD–CL for assessing the quality of the processed roots of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. (Heshouwu)

BACKGROUND: The processed roots of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. (Heshouwu; processed HSW) are commonly used in anti-aging medicine. Few reports have combined chemical profiles with bioactivity to evaluate the quality of the processed HSW. This study aims to integrate chemometric fingerprints of antioxidant activities and high-performance liquid chromatography–diode array detection–chemiluminescence (HPLC–DAD–CL) to assess the quality of processed HSW. METHODS: An online HPLC–DAD–CL based on the three reactive oxygen species (ROS), superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, and peroxynitriteanion, was developed to screen the potential anti-aging constituents for a comprehensive quality evaluation of processed HSW. Additionally, antioxidant-activity-integrated fingerprints were constructed and hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis were used to evaluate the variations among 14 batches of processed HSW samples purchased from drug stores in different habitats. RESULTS: Fourteen batches of processed HSW samples were highly similar and classified into two clusters using hierarchical cluster analysis. Twelve active compounds exhibited antioxidant activity on the ROS with different degrees of sensitivity that constituted specific fingerprints. Among them, protocatechuic acid, catechin, trans-2,3,5,4′-tetrahydroxy-stilbene-2-O-β-d-glucoside, 2,3,5, 4′-tetrahydroxy-stilbene-2-O-β-d-(2′′-galloyl)-glucoside, torachrysone-8-O-glucoside, and emodin-8-O-β-d-glucoside exerted relatively large influences on the differences between processed HSW samples. CONCLUSION: Our study established the antioxidative activity-integrated fingerprint for processed HSW and achieved a screening of the potential anti-aging constituents using the online HPLC–DAD–CL method with H(2)O(2), O(2)(•−), and ONOO(−)scavenging experiments. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13020-016-0087-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.