Impact of sulfur fumigation on the quality and bioactivity of Qiyao PillsOA

Background:While sulfur fumigation is widely used to preserve Chinese medicinal materials(CMMs),its impact the quality and efficacy of herbal formulas remains unclear.Qiyao Pills(QYP),a proprietary Chinese medicine comprising Astragali Radix,Dioscoreae Rhizoma,Atractylodis Rhizoma,and Scrophulariae Radix,is clinically used for spleen‑invigorating and kidney‑tonifying effects.Methods:In this study,we investigated the chemical and biological impacts of sulfur fumigation on QYP.First,untargeted and targeted metabolomics were performed to study the chemical variations of QYP formulated with non-fumigated CMMs(NS-QYP)and QYP formulated with sulfur-fumigated CMMs(S-QYP).Second,bioactivity evaluation was conducted to compare the spleen-invigorating and kidney-tonifying effects of NS-QYP and S-QYP.Results:Both untargeted and targeted metabolomics revealed substantial chemical alterations in S-QYP,including degradation of bioactive compounds and formation of sulfur‑containing derivatives.Bioactivity evaluation demonstrated that S-QYP exhibited weakened spleen‑invigorating and kidney‑tonifying effects compared with NS-QYP.Conclusion:These findings provide evidence that sulfur fumigation impacted both chemical quality and pharmacological efficacy of herbal formula,suggesting that those prepared with sulfur‑fumigated herbs require careful evaluation before clinical application.