Comparative Study on the Fingerprint, Chromaticity, Toxicity and Efficacy of Toosendan fructus Processed by Different Methods

Abstract: To clarify the correlation between the fingerprint and chromaticity values of Toosendan fructus processed by different methods, compare the differences in toxicity and anti-inflammatory activity, and reveal the mechanism of toxicity reduction and efficacy preservation through processing, this study established the fingerprints of different processed products of Toosendan fructus using UPLC, and measured the chromaticity values (L*, a*, b*, E*ab) of each sample powder using a spectrophotometer. Combined with cluster analysis, principal component analysis, and correlation analysis, the effects of the processing procedure on the internal chemical components and external color characteristics of Toosendan fructus were evaluated. Meanwhile, zebrafish were used as model animals to assess the acute toxicity and anti-inflammatory activity of the different processed products. The results showed that the similarity of the UPLC fingerprints of Toosendan fructus prepared by different methods was above 0.979, indicating that the overall composition remained stable. The chromaticity values of the stir-fried and sand-stir-fried products showed an increase in L* value and a decrease in a* and b* values, suggesting that the brightness of the processed samples increased and the color shifted toward green and blue tones. The acute toxicity results showed that the LC₅₀ values of the raw, stir-fried, and sand-stir-fried products were 7.30 mg/mL, 11.2 mg/mL, and 12.48 mg/mL, respectively. After processing, the LC₅₀ values of the samples were significantly higher than that of the raw product, indicating reduced toxicity. The anti-inflammatory activity evaluation showed that all the different processed products of Toosendan fructus significantly inhibited neutrophil aggregation in the zebrafish inflammation model, indicating that the anti-inflammatory effect was well preserved. Overall, this study demonstrates that Toosendan fructus processed by different stir-frying methods maintains overall chemical stability, exhibits distinguishable differences in appearance color, and achieves the processing purpose of reducing toxicity while preserving the original anti-inflammatory activity.