Advances in Processing and Quality Control of Traditional Chinese Medicine Coptidis rhizoma (Huanglian): A review

Abstract

Coptidis rhizoma (CR), also known as “Huanglian” in Chinese, is a traditional Chinese medicine commonly used in China, and it is an important species used in medicinal and food applications. It has been processed using a variety of methods, and the processed products have been widely used in clinical practice for thousands of years. However, few reports have focused on the systematic review of its processed products and quality control. In this study, a literature search on processing and quality control of CR was performed by using several literature resources including the Flora of China official website; various scientific databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, the Web of Science, Science Direct, and China Knowledge Resource Integrated; and other web sources such as books and PhD and MS dissertations. Results showed that quality control for different processed products of CR received little or no attention. Its processing still followed ancient methods, and the quality of artifacts in different regions varied. Further attention should be paid to the study of processing technology and quality control with biomarkers. We suggest to establish a quality control mode based on traditional efficacy and with bioactive markers as detection indicators.