Screening anaphylactoid components of Shuang Huang Lian Injection by analyzing spectrum-effect relationships coupled with UPLC-TOF-MS.

Shuang Huang Lian Injection (SHLI) has been used in China for over 30 years as an effective and widely used Chinese herbal prescription to treat acute respiratory infectious. SHLI has, however, caused many severe anaphylactoid reactions. It is important to identify the potential anaphylactoid components of SHLI. Spectrum-effect relationships were used to explore potentially anaphylactoid components. Based on the original herbal formula, honeysuckle, Fructus Forsythiae and Radix Scutellariae extracts were prepared and combined in appropriate proportions. The preparations were then injected into the caudal vein of rats to obtain in vivo serum samples for pharmacological evaluation and fingerprint analysis. The release rate of β-hexosaminidase from RBL-2H3 cells and plasma histamine level was used as the pharmacological index. Chromatographic fingerprint analysis identified 22 common peaks. Regression analysis and correlation analysis were used to calculate the relationships between the peaks and the pharmacological effects and identified peaks 5, 6, 11, 12 and 17 as likely anaphylactoid agents. The correlated peaks were identified by comparing the fingerprints with in vitro samples and reference standard samples and the structure was identified by UPLC-TOF-MS. This study established a prospective method to clarify the anaphylactoid components in SHLI, which would provide guidances for screening anaphylactoid components in other traditional Chinese medicine injections.