Identification of the Allergenic Ingredients in Reduning Injection by Ultrafiltration and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

Reduninginjection is a traditional Chinese medicine injection which has multiple functions such as clearing heat, dispelling wind, and detoxification. AlthoughReduninginjection was widely utilized, reports of its allergenicity emerged one after another. However, there is little research on its allergenic substances. The aim of this study is to evaluate the sensitization ofReduninginjection and explore the underlying cause of the anaphylactic reaction. The main ingredients inReduninginjection were analyzed before and after ultrafiltration. UltrafiltrateReduninginjection, unfilteredReduninginjection, egg albumin, Tween-80, and nine effective components inReduninginjection were utilized to sensitize guinea pigs. The serum 5-hydroxytryptamine level was used to assess the sensitization effect ofReduninginjection. We found a significant decrease in Tween-80 content comparing to other components in the injection after ultrafiltration. UnfilteredReduninginjection, Tween-80, chlorogenic acid, and cryptochlorogenin acid caused remarkable anaphylactoid reaction on guinea pigs while ultrafiltrationReduningresulted in a significantly lower degree of sensitization. Our results suggest that ultrafiltration could significantly reduce the sensitization ofReduninginjection, which is likely due to the decrease of Tween-80. We also conjectured that the form of chlorogenic acid and cryptochlorogenin acid within the complex solution mixture may also affect the sensitizing effect.