APPLICATION OF A LICORICE ROOT SPECIFIC PROTEIN TO A GENERAL-METHOD FOR THE ASSAY OF LICORICE ROOT COMPONENTS IN TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINES

A new fuzzy immunoassay method generally applied to ten Glycyrrhizae R adix (GR) preparations of four different botanical origins was studied . Four kinds of antisera were elicited in rabbits immunized,vith GRs o f different botanical origins. The presence of the characteristic GR p rotein (GRP) was shown using Western blot analyses and selected antibo dy enzyme immunoassay (SAEIA) methods. A GRP was isolated from one of the GR specimens which was selected using SAEIA methods. The isolated GRP was heated to reduce its binding activity to an anti-GR serum. A n ew fuzzy SAEIA method generally applicable for assay of the extract of the ten GR specimens was developed using heat-treated GRP as the soli d-phase antigen. The fuzzy SAEIA method was successfully applied for t he detection and quantitative analysis of the GR component contained i n traditional Chinese medicines.