Quantification of the constituents of the traditional Korea medicine, Samryeongbaekchul-san, and assessment of its antiadipogenic effect

Samryeongbaekchul-san (SBS) is a traditional herbal formula, which is used for the treatment of dyspepsia, chronic gastritis, and anorexia in Korea. To evaluate the quality of SBS decoction by quantifying its main constituents simultaneously using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array (HPLC–PDA) detection, and secondly to determine the antiadipogenic effect of SBS decoction. The main constituents in a 10-μL injection volume of the decoction were separated on Gemini C(18) and Luna NH(2) columns (both 250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) at 40 °C using a gradient of two mobile phases eluting at 1.0 mL/min. 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were differentiated into adipocytes for 8 days with or without SBS. After differentiation, accumulated triglyceride contents and leptin production were measured. The correlation coefficients of all constituents in a calibration curve were ≥0.9998 and showed good linearity in the tested concentration range after validation of the method established. The recovery of the four major compounds were 99.46–102.61% with intra- and interday precisions of 0.08–1.01% and 0.15–0.99%, respectively. The four compounds in the lyophilized SBS sample were detected up to 6.46 mg/g. SBS treatment of the differentiated adipocytes significantly inhibited lipid accumulation and leptin production without cytotoxicity. Optimized simultaneous determination of constituents by HPLC–PDA detection will help to improve quality assessment of SBS or related formulas. SBS has an antiadipogenic effect and further investigation to establish the mechanisms of action of its antiadipogenic effect is warranted.