This study was designed to investigate the flavor and taste change rules of Sophora Flavescentis Radix processed using the ancient classical method documented in Master Lei's Discourse on Medicinal Processing(Lei Gong Pao Zhi Lun). The Sophora Flavescentis Radix pieces and the corresponding test samples in each processing stage were first prepared based on the processing method for Sophora Flavescentis Radix recorded in Master Lei's Discourse on Medicinal Processing(Lei Gong Pao Zhi Lun). Then the flavors and tastes of Sophora Flavescentis Radix test samples undergoing the soaking in rice-washed water, washing with clean water, and steaming for different time were compared with the electronic nose and tongue. The results showed that in the preparation of Sophora Flavescentis Radix with the ancient method, such processes as soaking in rice-washed water and washing with clean water had no significant influences on the flavor, which, however, was weakened by steaming. In terms of the taste, soaking with rice-washed water enhanced the bitter taste of Sophora Flavescentis Radix, which remained unchanged after being washed with the clean water. The steaming would also diminish the bitter taste, making it taste similar to the original Sophora Flavescentis Radix medicinal materials. During the steaming for six to eight hours, the flavor did not vary significantly over time, while the bitter taste was first weakened and then intensified. The bitter taste of Sophora Flavescentis Radix steamed for six hours was similar to that steamed for eight hours. In addition, the differences in flavor and taste between Sophora Flavescentis Radix pieces processed by the ancient method in Master Lei's Discourse on Medicinal Processing(Lei Gong Pao Zhi Lun)and those by the modern method in the 2020 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia were analyzed. The findings demonstrated that the flavor of Sophora Flavescentis Radix pieces prepared by the ancient method was weaker than that by the modern method, whereas the bitter taste showed the opposite trend. The exploration on the flavor and taste change rules of Sophora Flavescentis Radix in its preparation by the ancient classical method and the differences in flavor and taste between Sophora Flavescentis Radix decoction pieces prepared by ancient and modern methods will lay a foundation for further elucidation of the scientific connotation of the ancient processing method and the medication principles of Sophora Flavescentis Radix in both ancient and modern times.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Electronic Nose ; Plant Roots ; Sophora ; Taste

This study was aimed to develop a simple, rapid and reliable method for identifying Armeniacae Semen Amarum from different processed products and various rancidness degrees. The objective odor information of Armeniacae Semen Amarum was obtained by electronic nose. 105 batches of Armeniacae Semen Amarum samples were studied, including three processed products of Armeniacae Semen Amarum, fried Armeniacae Semen Amarum and peeled Armeniacae Semen Amarum, as well as the samples with various rancidness degrees: without rancidness, slight rancidness, and rancidness. The discriminant models of different processed products and rancidness degrees of Armeniacae Semen Amarum were established by Support Vector Machine(SVM), respectively, and the models were verified based on back estimation of blind samples. The results showed that there were differences in the characteristic response radar patterns of the sensor array of different processed products and the samples with different rancidness degrees. The initial identification rate was 95.90% and 92.45%, whilst validation recognition rate was 95.38% and 91.08% in SVM identification models. In conclusion, differentiation in odor of different processed and rancidness degree Armeniacae Semen Amarum was performed by the electronic nose technology, and different processed and rancidness degrees Armeniacae Semen Amarum were successfully discriminated by combining with SVM. This research provides ideas and methods for objective identification of odor of traditional Chinese medicine, conducive to the inheritance and development of traditional experience in odor identification.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Electronic Nose ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Semen ; Support Vector Machine

This study aimed to establish a rapid and accurate method for identification of raw and vinegar-processed rhizomes of Curcuma kwangsiensis, in order to predict the content of curcumin compounds for scientific evaluation. A complete set of bionics recognition mode was adopted. The digital odor signal of raw and vinegar-processed rhizomes of Curcuma kwangsiensis were obtained by e-nose, and analyzed by back propagation(BP) neural network algorithm, with the accuracy, the sensitivity and specificity in discriminant model, correlation coefficient as well as the mean square error in regression model as the evaluation indexes. The experimental results showed that the three indexes of the e-nose signal discrimination model established by the neural network algorithm were 100% in training set, correction set and prediction set, which were obviously better than the traditional decision tree, naive bayes, support vector machine, K nearest neighbor and boost classification, and could accurately differentiate the raw and vinegar products. Correlation coefficient and mean square error of the regression model in prediction set were 0.974 8 and 0.117 5 respectively, and could well predict curcumin compounds content in Curcuma kwangsiensis, and demonstrate the superiority of the simulation biometrics model in the analysis of traditional Chinese medicine. By BP neural network algorithm, e-nose odor fingerprint could quickly, conveniently and accurately realize the discrimination and regression, which suggested that more bionics information acquisition and identification patterns could be combined in the field of traditional Chinese medicine, so as to provide ideas and methods for the rapid evaluation and stan-dardization of the quality of traditional Chinese medicine.
Acetic Acid ; Bayes Theorem ; Curcuma ; Curcumin ; Electronic Nose ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Rhizome

Taste is an important factor affecting the medicinal properties of oral preparations and patient compliance with medication, and also an important evaluation index for oral preparation design and clinical application. How to characterize the taste objectively, accurately, simply, and efficiently is a bottleneck problem that restricts the taste design, development, and utilization of oral preparations. At present, the commonly used taste assessment methods for oral preparations are traditional human taste panel, electronic tongue, animal preference test, in vitro release study, and electrophysiological test. The traditional human taste panel is the first choice for taste evaluation, but it is limited by poor subjectivity and reproducibility. Therefore, despite some limitations, the other four taste assessment methods have been applied in the pharmaceutical industry as auxiliary methods. This study reviewed the detection principles, applicability, advantages, and disadvantages of the above methods to provide references for the taste correction research and taste assessment of oral preparations, improve patient compliance and the competitiveness of oral preparation products in the industry, and promote the development of oral preparation technologies.
Administration, Oral ; Animals ; Electronic Nose ; Humans ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; Reproducibility of Results ; Taste

The odor fingerprint of Pollygonati Rhizoma samples with different mildewing degrees was analyzed and the relationship between the odor variation and the mildewing degree was explored. A fast discriminant model was established according to the response intensity of electronic nose. The α-FOX3000 electronic nose was applied to analyze the odor fingerprint of Pollygonati Rhizoma samples with different mildewing degrees and the radar map was used to analyze the main contributors among the volatile organic compounds. The feature data were processed and analyzed by partial least squares discriminant analysis(PLS-DA), K-nearest neighbor(KNN), sequential minimal optimization(SMO), random forest(RF) and naive Bayes(NB), respectively. According to the radar map of the electronic nose, the response values of three sensors, namely T70/2, T30/1, and P10/2, increased with the mildewing, indicating that the Pollygonati Rhizoma produced alkanes and aromatic compounds after the mildewing. According to PLS-DA model, Pollygonati Rhizoma samples of three mildewing degrees could be well distinguished in three areas. Afterwards, the variable importance analysis of the sensors was carried out and then five sensors that contributed a lot to the classification were screened out: T70/2, T30/1, PA/2, P10/1 and P40/1. The classification accuracy of all the four models(KNN, SMO, RF, and NB) was above 90%, and KNN was most accurate(accuracy: 97.2%). Different volatile organic compounds were produced after the mildewing of Pollygonati Rhizoma, and they could be detected by electronic nose, which laid a foundation for the establishment of a rapid discrimination model for mildewed Pollygonati Rhizoma. This paper shed lights on further research on change pattern and quick detection of volatile organic compounds in moldy Chinese herbal medicines.
Electronic Nose ; Odorants/analysis* ; Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis* ; Bayes Theorem ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/analysis* ; Discriminant Analysis

Since Curcumae Radix decoction pieces have multiple sources, it is difficult to distinguish depending on traditional cha-racters, and the mixed use of multi-source Curcumae Radix will affect its clinical efficacy. Heracles Neo ultra-fast gas phase electronic nose was used in this study to quickly identify and analyze the odor components of 40 batches of Curcumae Radix samples from Sichuan, Zhejiang, and Guangxi. Based on the odor fingerprints established for Curcumae Radix decoction pieces of multiple sources, the odor components was identified and analyzed, and the chromatographic peaks were processed and analyzed to establish a rapid identification method. Principal component analysis(PCA), discriminant factor analysis(DFA), and soft independent modeling cluster analysis(SIMCA) were constructed for verification. At the same time, one-way analysis of variance(ANOVA) combined with variable importance in projection(VIP) was employed to screen out the odor components with P<0.05 and VIP>1, and 13 odor components such as β-caryophyllene and limonene were hypothesized as the odor differential markers of Curcumae Radix decoction pieces of diffe-rent sources. The results showed that Heracles Neo ultra-fast gas phase electronic nose can well analyze the odor characteristics and rapidly and accurately discriminate Curcumae Radix decoction pieces of different sources. It can be applied to the quality control(e.g., online detection) in the production of Curcumae Radix decoction pieces. This study provides a new method and idea for the rapid identification and quality control of Curcumae Radix decoction pieces.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/analysis* ; Electronic Nose ; China ; Plant Roots/chemistry* ; Limonene/analysis* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid

The quality of honeysuckle has always been an important factor in industrial development. Flowering is one of the elements for the variation of the effective components in honeysuckle. We can conveniently recognize whether the commodity is mixed with blossomed honeysuckle in the form of medicinal material. However,it is hard to identify whether the products are mixed with blossomed honeysuckle in the form of powdersince visual identification traits are missing. Therefore,this study aims to seek an effective method of odor-based distinguish for identifying the quality of honeysuckle powder in different ratios by using Heracles Ⅱ ultra-fast gas phase electronic nose.The powdered samples were prepared with flower buds and fully blooming flowers in different proportion. Gas chromatograms of the powder were obtained by HeraclesⅡ ultra-fast gas phase electronic nose. Through analyzing the data of chromatograms,we have concluded that the qualitative results of the prepared powder were almost the same,and there existed differences in the components content. Meanwhile,the hexanal odor appeared to be the critical factor in identifying honeysuckle powder quality among the flavor of all possible compounds. Also,we have applied PCA,DFA and CQ to identify and classify the variety of the powder based on the chromatogram data. Finally,it is realized that the powder was rapidly identified and classified into three grades based on the proportion of flowering honeysuckle. The predicted concentration value for the first class is less than 3,the value of is not less than 3 and less than 5 for the second class,and more than 5 for the third class. In summary,the results obtained by the study suggest that Heracles Ⅱ ultra-fast gas phase electronic nose analysis can be used as a rapid identification method for the quality of honeysuckle powder. At the same time,it can provide a reference for the quality classification of honeysuckle based on flowering degrees.
Electronic Nose ; Flowers/chemistry* ; Lonicera/chemistry* ; Odorants/analysis* ; Plant Preparations/analysis* ; Powders/analysis* ; Quality Control

Traditional Chinese medicine( TCM) decoction contains complex bitterness. In this paper,the simple mixing of TCM monomer bitter substances is used as the entry point to study the law of bitterness superposition. With berberine hydrochloride( alkaloids),geniposide( terpenoids),and arbutin( glycosides) as mother liquor,sophoridine( alkaloids),gentiopicroside( terpenoids),and puerarin( glycosides) as additive substances,these different additive substances were mixed with different mother liquor according to concentration gradients to form different liquid mixtures. The bitterness of the additive solution and the mixtures was evaluated by traditional human taste panel method( THTPM) and electronic tongue; the bitterness-concentration fitting model of the additive solution and the liquid mixtures was established by Weibull and logarithmic curves. By comparing and analyzing the bitterness-concentration model and the bitterness difference( ΔI_0/ΔI_e) of the additive solution and the mixture,the influence of mother liquor on the bitterness of the mixture was investigated. The results showed that both the additive solution bitterness model and the liquid mixture bitterness model were consistent with the Weibull model and the logarithmic model( THTPM: R~2≥0. 887 0,P<0. 01; electronic tongue test:R~2≥0. 753 2,P<0. 05). The fitting degree of the Weibull model was generally higher than that of the logarithmic model; the bitterness difference( ΔI_0) was monotonously decreasing; the fitting equation of tongue bitterness and electronic tongue bitterness: R~2≥0. 874 2,P<0. 01. In this article,through the superposition of different kinds of TCM bitter substances,THTPM and electronic tongue test was combined. It was found that the bitterness after superposition was still in Weibull or logarithmic relationship with the concentration of additive substances; THTPM showed that the effect of bitter mother liquor on the bitterness of the mixture decreased with the increase of the concentration of the additive; the bitterness of the electronic tongue was obviously related to the bitterness of THTPM. However,further verification is needed later by optimizing the concentration gradient and expanding the sample size.
Alkaloids/analysis* ; Electronic Nose ; Glycosides/analysis* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Taste ; Terpenes/analysis*

Smell used to be a common diagnostic tool in medicine, and physicians were trained to use their sense of smell during their medical training. Latterly, odor disgnostics have been relegated to secondary status as a diagnostic method. Array-based gas sensors ("Electronic Nose") now offer the potential of a robust analytical approach to exhaled breath analysis for medical use. Many diseases are accompanied by characteristic odor, and their recognition can provide diagonostic clues, guide the laboratory evaluation, and affect the choice of immediate therapy. We are developing an intelligent sensor system for non-invasive health care monitoring combined laboratory based sensor module, pattern recognition subsystem and non-invasive sampling of volatile emitted from a patient into a highly intelligent sensor system that allows the rapid processing of these samples. It is capable to assist early and rapid disgnosis of changes in state of patient, and aid decision making by medical personnel in the treatment of such patients. In this paper, we introduce exhaled breath analysis for potential primary lung disease screening using electronic nose system incorporating an automated solid-phase microextraction (SPME) desorption to enable the system to be used. Aiming to increase the sensitivity, SPME preconcentration is used for sampling of headspace air and the response of sensor module to variable concentration of volatile emitted from SPME fiber is evaluated. The initial result shows the distinguished difference between the lung cancer patients and healthy normal individuals according to the analysis of the respective expiratory gases.
Decision Making ; Delivery of Health Care ; Electronic Nose* ; Exhalation ; Gases ; Humans ; Lung Diseases* ; Lung Neoplasms ; Mass Screening ; Odors ; Smell

This study aims to investigate the relationship between odor and contents of the chemical compounds in Lonicera japonica, including chlorogenic acid, galuteolin and polyphenols. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was applied to determine the contents of chlorogenic acid and galuteolin in L. japonica. The ponptent of polyphenols was determined by UV-Vis Spectrophotometry. Electronic nose was used to extract and measure the odor of L. japonica. Then SPSS 17.0 software was employed for data processing. There is a significant positive correlation between the comprehensive index value of aroma and the contents of chlorogenic acid and polyphenols. The regression equations have been established. However, the relationship between the comprehensive index value and the content of galuteolin is not obvious. This is proof that the odor of L. japonica has close connection with the chemical compounds. Therefore, this research offered a new method for initially determine or predict the content of the chemical composition in L. japonica,
Chlorogenic Acid ; chemistry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Electronic Nose ; Lonicera ; chemistry ; Odorants ; analysis ; Polyphenols ; chemistry ; Smell