Quality control methods established in view of the characteristics of component type of Yuhuang Shengji ointment based on HPLC, ICP-MS and GC e-nose

Yuhuang Shengji ointment (YSO) is a traditional Chinese medicine clinical prescription from Professor Wang Yehuang, a famous Chinese medicine professor in Jiangsu Province, China. It is used for the treatment of postoperative healing of anal fistula in clinic practice. It is composed of Corydalis Rhizoma, Radix Sanguisorbae Carbonisata, Natrii Sulfas, Alumen Ustum, Plant Soot and Borneolum. It has the effects of eliminating dampness, astringing sores, hemostasis, pain relief, detumescence and muscle regeneration. According to the characteristics that YSO mainly contains inorganic, organic and volatile components, the comprehensive quality control of the ointment was achieved by different analytical methods. The organic components in the ointment were qualitatively analyzed by ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) to determine the main chemical components. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprint of the organic components of the ointment was further established. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) technology is used to analyze the inorganic elements in ointment, which provides data support for the quality control of inorganic components. The flash GC e-nose is used for rapid detection of volatile substances in ointment, and the fingerprint of volatile components is established. The comprehensive use of these analytical techniques not only reflects the overall chemical characteristics of the ointment, but also helps to evaluate the consistency between different batches of products. This study successfully established a comprehensive quality analysis method, which provided a basis for the quality control of YSO. At the same time, it provides a more comprehensive quality control strategy for ointment which mainly contains organic, inorganic and volatile components.