Application of polysaccharide as chemical marker in quality control of saccharide-dominant Chinese medicines: cordyceps sinensis, a case study

The quality control of many tonic herbs remains a challenge as their main active ingredients are polysaccharides for which analytical methods are poorly developed. This project, taking Cordyceps as an example, aims to develop a unique polysaccharide marker for qualitative and quantitative quality assessment.

A unique polysaccharide was found to exist only in the caterpillar part of authentic Cordyceps samples. Its specificity was verified after comparison with the DNA authentication of 300+ samples. CSP was characterised to a 1,4-α-glucan by extensive chemical and spectral analysis including methylation analysis, monosugar composition analysis, 1D-/2D-NMR spectrometry, etc. And its immunomodulating effects on macrophages undergo the TLR4/MyD88/p38 pathway as verified on TLR4-/- mice. Furthermore, CSP content was found to be associated with the traditional grading criteria of Cordyceps. Taken together, CSP showed the potential to work as a specific and bioactive marker of Cordyceps. The research findings were published on Carbohydrate Polymers, 2021, 118343 & 118443.

The patents regarding the use of this polysaccharide marker have been granted in the USA, the mainland of China, Hong Kong and Macau, and successfully commercialised via a startup company, Hong Kong Authentication Centre of Valuable Chinese Medicines Ltd (www.hkacvcm.com). whose clients include government departments and listed companies. This project received a series of awards: Excellent Research Award at Health Research Symposium 2024, Gold Medal at 2021 Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions, The HKBU Innovationem Award 2020, Top 50 in the 2nd GBA High-Value Patent Portfolio Contest 2020, 2019 Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine outstanding young scholars scientific and technological achievements, and Gold Medal at International Exhibition of Inventions of Asia 2019.

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