Application of pattern recognition to the 1H NMR spectra of Chinese medicinal herbs for cold-hot nature distinguish

“Cold-hot nature” is the key part of the theory on herb properties in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Traditionally, the cold-hot natures of medicinal herbs were ascertained mainly dependent on medicinal experience. Nowadays systematic methods considering the material basis from a variety of chemical substances are needed and may be reliable to differentiate cold-hot nature of various herbs. In the present study, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of proton (¹H NMR) was combined with pattern recognition techniques for cold-hot nature classification of Chinese medicinal herbs for the first time. ¹H NMR determination was carried out on 29 kinds of Chinese medicinal herbs. Principal component analysis (PCA) and Fisher discriminant analysis (FDA) then were applied to analyze the large ¹H-NMR spectra data set obtained. The results indicated that the combination of ¹H-NMR and FDA may provide a more efficient means for the research and exploration of cold-hot nature of medicinal herbs.