Background Ephedrae Herba (EH) is the terrestrial stem of Ephedra sinica Stapf, E. intermedia Schrenk et C. A. Mey., or E. equisetina Bge, which has been used as a diaphoretic, antiasthmatic, and diuretic. Honey-processed EH (HEH) is a widely used traditional Chinese medicine, and has a better effect of dispersing lung qi and relieving asthma and a lower effect of dispelling cold than raw EH (REH). Objective To understand the differences in volatile oils and primary metabolites between REH and honey-processed HEH, and to provide a reference for elucidating the mechanism behind the effect of this processing. Methods A system data acquisition and mining strategy was designed to investigate the differences in volatiles and primary metabolites between the REH and HEH, based on GC–MS coupled with multivariate statistical analysis, including principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis. Results Overall, 15 volatile oils and 14 primary metabolites were shown to be potential characteristic markers differentiating REH and HEH. Conclusion The results may provide a scientific foundation for comprehensively revealing the honey-processing mechanism of EH. Highlight Volatile oils and primary metabolites were used to distinguish REH and HEH and elucidate the processing mechanism of EH for the first time.

中文翻译：

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GC-MS 和化学计量学比较生麻黄和蜂蜜加工麻黄的挥发油和初级代谢物

背景麻黄草 (EH) 是麻黄、E. intermedia Schrenk et CA Mey. 或 E. equisetina Bge 的陆生茎，已被用作发汗剂、平喘剂和利尿剂。蜂蜜加工的EH（HEH）是一种应用广泛的中药，与生EH（REH）相比，其散肺平喘效果更好，散寒作用较低。目的了解REH与蜂蜜加工的HEH在挥发油和初级代谢产物中的差异，为阐明该加工作用的机理提供参考。方 包括主成分分析和正交偏最小二乘判别分析。结果总体而言，15 种挥发油和 14 种初级代谢物被证明是区分 REH 和 HEH 的潜在特征标志物。结论本研究结果可为全面揭示EH蜂蜜加工机理提供科学依据。亮点 挥发油和初级代谢物首次用于区分REH和HEH，阐明了EH的加工机理。