Identification of a Quality Marker of Vinegar-Processed Curcuma Zedoaria on Oxidative Liver Injury

Curcuma zedoaria (dry stenophora of Curcuma phaeocaulis Val., Curcuma kwangsiensis S. G. Lee et C. F. Liang, or Curcuma wenyujin Y. H. Chen et C.Ling) is a representative herb with clinical effects on liver diseases after being vinegar-processed. The crude Curcuma zedoaria and the processed Curcuma zedoaria (vinegar-boil) have been widely used as mixtures, but their equivalence has not been fully investigated. In this manuscript, quality markers of processed (vinegar-boil) Curcuma zedoaria were investigated by comparison of the compounds and hepatoprotective activities with the crude (three spices) ones. First, GC-MS-based untargeted metabolomics were applied to reveal the discriminatory components and discover potential markers. As a result, a total of six components were identified as potential markers. Then, the hepatoprotective activities were evaluated by dual cell damage models induced by a certain concentration of H2O2 or tertbutyl hydfroperoxide (t-BHP) (55 μM H2O2 or 40 μM t-BHP), which highlighted the potential of the processed Curcuma zedoaria on oxidative stress. Finally, epicurzerenone was identified as its quality marker on oxidative liver injury based on the above results and the cell-based biological assay. Overall, vinegar-processed Curcuma zedoaria was more suitable for the treatment of oxidative liver diseases, and epicurzerenone could be considered as its quality marker.