{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T05:00:50Z","timestamp":1787029250110,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":13,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,3]],"date-time":"2026-04-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775174400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003718","name":"Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["KSN1823311"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KSN1823311"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003718","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003718","name":"Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["KSN2324023"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KSN2324023"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003718","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["KSN1823311"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KSN1823311"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/005rpmt10","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["KSN2324023"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KSN2324023"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/005rpmt10","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmaceuticals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Maziren-Wan (MZRW) is a traditional herbal prescription that has been used for the treatment of chronic constipation and is currently available in the form of granules or decoctions. Given its multi-component nature and various dosage forms, evaluating the chemical consistency of MZRW preparations is important for pharmaceutical quality assessment. The aim of the present study was to compare formulation-dependent chemical profiles of different MZRW preparations using a multi-component analytical approach. Methods: An excipient-free reference extract and two commercially available MZRW extract granule products were analyzed using a validated liquid chromatography\u2013tandem mass spectrometry (LC\u2013MS\/MS) method operating in multiple reaction monitoring mode. Thirty marker compounds derived from the constituent herbs were simultaneously quantified, and their levels were statistically compared among the preparations. Results: Quantitative analysis revealed formulation-dependent variation in the abundance of several marker compounds. Amygdalin and magnoloside A exhibited markedly higher levels in the excipient-free reference extract than in the commercial granule products, whereas sennoside A showed relatively consistent levels across the preparations. Conclusions: The results indicate that MZRW preparations sharing an identical herbal composition can exhibit formulation-dependent differences in chemical profiles. Comparative evaluation based on multiple marker compounds may provide useful information for assessing chemical consistency and supporting quality assessment of MZRW preparations formulated under different conditions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ph19040577","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,6]],"date-time":"2026-04-06T04:10:27Z","timestamp":1775448627000},"page":"577","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Evaluating Formulation-Dependent Chemical Variation and Comparability of Maziren-Wan Preparations via Multi-Component LC\u2013MS\/MS Profiling"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8156-446X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chang-Seob","family":"Seo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"KM Science Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon 34054, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"936","DOI":"10.14309\/ajg.0000000000002227","article-title":"AGA\u2013ACG Clinical Practice Guideline: Pharmacological Management of Chronic Idiopathic Constipation","volume":"118","author":"Chang","year":"2023","journal-title":"Am. J. Gastroenterol."},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"62","article-title":"Evidence-Based Clinical Guidelines for Chronic Constipation 2023","volume":"106","author":"Ihara","year":"2025","journal-title":"Digestion"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Huang, T., Zhao, L., Lin, C.Y., Lu, L., Ning, Z.W., Hu, D.D., Zhong, L.L.D., Yang, Z.-J., and Bian, Z.X. (2020). Chinese herbal medicine (MaZiRenWan) improves bowel movement in functional constipation through down-regulating oleamide. Front. Pharmacol., 10.","DOI":"10.3389\/fphar.2019.01570"},{"key":"ref_4","first-page":"S44","article-title":"Chinese herbal medicine for functional constipation: A randomized controlled trial","volume":"19","author":"Bian","year":"2013","journal-title":"Hong Kong Med. J."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"439","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apsb.2017.04.012","article-title":"Approaches to establish Q-markers for the quality standards of traditional Chinese medicines","volume":"7","author":"Yang","year":"2017","journal-title":"Acta Pharm. Sin. B"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"888","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eng.2019.01.015","article-title":"Quality markers of traditional Chinese medicine: Concept, progress, and perspective","volume":"5","author":"Li","year":"2019","journal-title":"Engineering"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"473","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpba.2017.06.048","article-title":"Advanced strategies for quality control of Chinese medicines","volume":"147","author":"Zhao","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Pharm. Biomed. Anal."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1234","DOI":"10.1134\/S1061934823110102","article-title":"An LC-MS\/MS method for the quantification of major biomarkers in \u201cMajoon-e-Nisyan\u201d\u2014An Unani polyherbal formulation","volume":"78","author":"Thakkar","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Anal. Chem."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.1186\/s43094-020-00091-5","article-title":"Quality control of the traditional herbs and herbal products: A review","volume":"6","author":"Balekundri","year":"2020","journal-title":"Future J. Pharm. Sci."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Seo, C.S., and Shin, H.K. (2023). Ultra-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry for simultaneous analysis of 22 analytes of Oncheong-eum, a traditional Korean herbal formula. Processes, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/pr11102906"},{"key":"ref_11","unstructured":"International Council for Harmonisation (2005, January 1\u201313). Validation of analytical procedures: Text and Methodology Q2(R1). Proceedings of the International Conference on Harmonisation, Geneva, Switzerland."},{"key":"ref_12","unstructured":"U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2015). Guidance for Industry: Analytical Procedures and Methods Validation for Drugs and Biologics, New Hampshire Avenue."},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (2023). Guidelines on Establishment of Chemical Profiles for Herbal Medicinal Products."}],"container-title":["Pharmaceuticals"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8247\/19\/4\/577\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,7]],"date-time":"2026-04-07T04:18:16Z","timestamp":1775535496000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8247\/19\/4\/577"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,3]]},"references-count":13,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4]]}},"alternative-id":["ph19040577"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ph19040577","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-8247"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1424-8247","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,3]]}}}