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Chemical standardization, along with morphological and DNA analysis ensures the authenticity and advances the integrity evaluation of botanical preparations. Achievement of a more comprehensive, metabolomic standardization requires simultaneous quantitation of multiple marker compounds. Employing quantitative 1H NMR (qHNMR), this study determined the total isoflavone content (TIfCo; 34.5–36.5% w/w) via multimarker standardization and assessed the stability of a 10-year-old isoflavone-enriched red clover extract (RCE). Eleven markers (nine isoflavones, two flavonols) were targeted simultaneously, and outcomes were compared with LC-based standardization. Two advanced quantitative measures in qHNMR were applied to derive quantities from complex and/or overlapping resonances: a quantum mechanical (QM) method (QM-qHNMR) that employs 1H iterative full spin analysis, and a non-QM method that uses linear peak fitting algorithms (PF-qHNMR). A 10 min UHPLC-UV method provided auxiliary orthogonal quantitation. This is the first systematic evaluation of QM and non-QM deconvolution as qHNMR quantitation measures. It demonstrates that QM-qHNMR can account successfully for the complexity of 1H NMR spectra of individual analytes and how QM-qHNMR can be built for mixtures such as botanical extracts. The contents of the main bioactive markers were in good agreement with earlier HPLC-UV results, demonstrating the chemical stability of the RCE. QM-qHNMR advances chemical standardization by its inherent QM accuracy and the use of universal calibrants, avoiding the impractical need for identical reference materials.

1D NMR spectra contain a wealth of vital structural information that can enhance the description of bioactive molecules. The present study demonstrates how quantum-mechanics driven 1H iterative Full Spin Analysis (QM-HiFSA) is capable of distinguishing spectral detail that cannot be interpreted manually or visually, but provides important information of the 3D structure and bonding (re-)activity of the molecules. This approach is established by analyzing 1D NMR spectra of oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPACs), which exhibit high dentin bioactivity, and were isolated from the inner bark of pine. The higher order coupling and proton-deuterium exchange effects observed in these complex molecules were fully explained and quantified by QM-HiFSA. Dimeric and trimer OPACs provide evidence that high δ precision is applicable to 13C, in addition to 1H 1D NMR spectra, requiring reporting to the ppb level and below. Both the nano chemical shifts (ppb) and the associated nano substituent chemical shifts (s.c.s.) are significant properties of the 1H and 13C NMR spectra and enable recognition of structural properties that are relevant to better understanding of the intermolecular interactions between the OPAC pharmacophores and dentin micromolecules triggering enhanced tissue mechanics.