Abstract

Qu zhi qiao (Qu Aurantii Fructus ) is mainly produced in Changshan, Quzhou, and is one of the new eight flavours of Zhejiang, containing flavonoids, volatile oils, alkaloids and coumarins, etc., which has the effect of regulating qi and stagnation and reducing swelling. There are many kinds of compounds in Qu Aurantii Fructus, so it is not comprehensive to evaluate the quality only by a few index components. Based on the quality marker theory, the quality markers of Qu Aurantii Fructus were predicted and analysed from the aspects of plant affinity, chemical composition, medicinal properties of traditional Chinese medicine, effectiveness such as traditional Chinese medicine and measurable composition. The chemical components of narirutin, naringin, naringenin, hesperidin, neohesperidin, limonene, beta-myrcene, limonin, synephrine, hesperidolactone hydrate, umbelliferon and marmine were used as candidate quality markers-markers of Qu Aurantii Fructus. Meanwhile, the potential targets and pathways of the quality marker and absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity of the quality marker were predicted and analysed.