Diseases in various forms have been around for ages and humans have always tried to find the appropriate natural medicine for treatment. The development of traditional Chinese medicine has been around for thousands of years and the experience of medicine use, compiling them into formula and recipes has laid the foundation for the theories and practices of Chinese medicine. However, Chinese medicine is still not fully accepted by the Western pharmaceutical system as the field still lacks solid scientific evidence, standardization of the manufacturing process, rigorous clinical trials, quality control and regulatory specifications.

With the continuous development of policies and regulations regarding Chinese medicine worldwide, the demand for the quality of such products continues to rise. Under the stimulation of the growth of mainstream Western medicine, the field of Chinese medicine also constantly seeks breakthroughs and transformation. Facing various internal and external pressures, meeting international standards in manufacturing and improving the levels of science and technology are the only ways to achieve growth goals. However, the purchase, the maintenance of testing equipment can be expensive and it is not an easy task to train and maintain professional staff and laboratories also require long-term management. As a result, service institutes handling contract testing and research and development were born. Specialized division of labor and cross-industry alliance have become a trend in today's pharmaceutical industry and Herbiotek provides its clients with inspection, verification, certification, R & D and consultation services. While having the foundation of advantages and features of Chinese medicine, the company also makes full use of modern technologies and methods to help its clients establish and integrate the chemistry, manufacturing and control technology and data related to Chinese medicine. Manufacturing accurate, safe, effective, uniform and stable Chinese medicine that can compete worldwide and creating a new era for Chinese medicine are the core values of Herbiotek.

Identification of Chinese medicine and fingerprint analysis are the keys to the quality improvement and internationalization of Chinese medicine. Herbiotek is committed to the long-term development of technology platform for the identification of Chinese medicine and fingerprint analysis. The accumulation of data has paved the way for the field of Chinese medicine to be more modern, scientific, international and standardized.

Identification platform for Chinese herbal medicine

This platform includes the identification techniques for species origins such as appearance, microscopic identification of tissues and DNA. A DNA sequence is encoded by a series of bases. The identification is conducted by using DNA barcodes that include ITS, psbA, psbA-trnH so that different species can be identified based on the differences in DNA sequences. Appearance and microscopic identification can be used as the basis for origin identification, while DNA identification provides clients with objective and scientific test data.

Technology platform for multi-index fingerprint analysis

Herbiotek's platform mainly integrates multiple types of fingerprint analysis, including HPLC/PDA, HPLC/RI, HPLC/ELSD, LC/MS, LC/MS/MS, GC/MS, GC/MS/MS and ICP/MS. With this application, Chinese medicine and its preparation go through comprehensive description and evaluation to present the integrity and complexity of chemical characteristics.

The correctness of the origin of Chinese medicine is the first step in quality control. The traditional method is based on the characteristics of herbs written in the records, with features being used for identification and it is the quickest and the most commonly used identification method. Microscopic examination conducts identification into the cell level, the types and arrangements of cells and their content are used as the basis for origin identification, ensuring the credibility of the results.

In recent years, DNA identification has become the latest emerging technique for Chinese herbal medicine. A DNA sequence is encoded by a series of bases and different species can be identified based on the differences in DNA sequences. Since 2000, our technical team had worked with Biomedical Technology and Device Research Laboratories of Industrial Technology Research Institute and witnessed the development progress of DNA identification for Chinese medicine. China also established a DNA barcode identification system for Chinese herbal medicine and included the system in the 2010 edition of Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, providing a clear, rich and comprehensive DNA database for Chinese herbal medicine.

The basic characteristics of preparation of Chinese medicine in single or multiple flavors are stated in the traditional medicine books, based on certain proportions and dosage combinations with specific procedures and industrialized mass production. The composition comes from a variety of chemical groups, not just a single type or a few chemicals. Merely using one or two chemical compositions to characterize the quality of Chinese medicine preparation cannot offer a full explanation and multiple fingerprints are considered the most representing format that shows the integrity and complexity of Chinese medicine preparation.

Herbiotek's platform establishes multi-index composition analysis for Chinese medicine, integrating multiple types of fingerprint analysis, including HPLC/PDA, HPLC/RI, HPLC/ELSD, LC/MS, LC/MS/MS, GC/MS, GC/MS/MS and ICP/MS. HPLC/PDA is used for the testing of Nucleotide and three-dimensional fingerprints of small molecule organic compounds and key ingredients. HPLC/ELSD is mainly used for the construction of sugar profile. HPLC/RI is used for the testing of polysaccharide content. LC/MS is used for the identification of peptide, amino acid and vitamin components and the identification of fingerprints and small molecule chemical structure. LC/MS/MS is used for the inspection of pollutants such as pesticide residues, aflatoxins, aristolochic acid and aconitine. GC/MS and GC/MS/MS are used for the testing of fingerprints of volatile components and pesticide residues. ICP/MS is used for the fingerprint analysis of heavy metals and inorganic elements.

With this application, Chinese medicine and its preparation go through comprehensive description and evaluation to present the integrity and complexity of chemical characteristics. This platform performs effective control and analysis of multiple key ingredients and can also be applied to the safety monitoring of pollutants and hazardous substances in Chinese herbal medicine.