The study of Cistanche deserticola using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy combined with two-dimensional correlation infrared spectroscopy

Infrared (IR) spectroscopy is used in combination with two-dimensional (2D) correlation IR spectroscopy to conduct rapid non-destructive quantitative research on extracts of Cistanche deserticola. In order to select the appropriate alcohol concentration to immerse the C. deserticola, we analyze the extracts of alcohol of different concentration with multi-steps. The findings indicate that FT-IR spectrum can provide many holistic variation rules of chemical constituents. The use of the macroscopical fingerprint characters of FT-IR and 2D-IR spectrum can, not only identify the main chemical constituents in C. deserticola, but also reveal the important spectroscopic fingerprint characteristics specific to the extracts prepared with 40–60% alcohol by volume, which contain more of the active constituents of C. deserticola. This analytical method is considerably rapid, effective and accurate for selecting the extracts prepared with appropriate alcohol concentration.