Effect of Weakly Basic Conditions on the Separation and Purification of Flavonoids and Glycosides from Chrysanthemum morifolium Tea

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Review of Manuscript Number: ID: Molecules-427528 revised

Title:“ Effect of weakly basic conditions on the separation and purification of flavonoids and glycosides from Chrysanthemum morifolium tea”

Journal: Molecules

It is unknown whether weakly basic conditions will help to purify and analyze the components of Chrysanthemum morifolium, so authors have explored this possibility by:

-          analysis of the components isolated in weakly basic conditions by HPLC-DAD

-          investigation of the hydrolytic behavior of chlorogenic acid (3-CQA) and apigenin-7-O-glucoside (A7G) with UPLC-Q-TOF-MS.

This study provides an effective approach for isolating flavonoids and glycosides from Chrysanthemum morifolium and clarifies the hydrolysis mechanism of caffeoylquinic acids, which will be helpful for research on the purification and analysis of related substances.                  

The results showed that weakly basic conditions could be used for purification  of flavonoids

and glycosides but not for caffeoylquinic acids. This study not only provided a procedure for the separation and purification of flavonoids and glycosides from Chrysanthemum morifolium in weakly basic conditions, it also clarified the hydrolysis behavior of caffeoylquinic acids, which could be helpful for further investigations into their functional aspects.

In conclusion, the manuscript is interesting. I recommend the manuscript to be published . I suggest minor editorial changes:

-          The name Chrysanthemum morifolium in the title, abstract and introduction should be written in Italic type

-          Fig. 2 – concentration/mmol/L   should be   concentration [mmol ∙ L^-1, fig. a and b

-          Fig. 2 – Time/mmol/hour   should be   Time [hours), fig. c

-          Fig. 2 – Retention rate/%   should be Retention rate [%], fig. b  and c

-          L 111,118, 119, 125, 207 – mmol/L  should be   mmol∙ L^-1

^-                     L201   1 mL/min should be mL∙min^-1

^-                     L214, 215  mg/mL should be mg∙min^-1

^-                     L216, 220, 230, 238  mmol/L  should be   mmol ∙ L^-1

^-                     L221 mL/min should be mL∙min^-1

^-                     L240 L/min should be   L min^-1

^-                     Bibliography - All parts of the journal title should be written in capital letters (1,2,5, 6, 8,9, 13). In addition, titles should be written developed.

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

Hope everything is fun with you.

Thank you for your kindly suggestions and comments. This manuscript is revised according to your suggestions.

All revisions have been clearly highlighted in red colour.

Regards,

Yuxiao Wang

In conclusion, the manuscript is interesting. I recommend the manuscript to be published. I suggest minor editorial changes:

Q1: The name Chrysanthemum morifolium in the title, abstract and introduction should be written in Italic type

A: The name has been written in Italic type.

Q2: Fig. 2 – concentration/mmol/L should be concentration [mmol ∙ L-1, fig. a and b

Fig. 2 – Time/mmol/hour should be Time [hours), fig. c

Fig. 2 – Retention rate/% should be Retention rate [%], fig. b and c

A: The units in axis have been placed in parentheses.

Q3: L 111,118, 119, 125, 207 – mmol/L should be mmol∙ L-1

L201 1 mL/min should be mL∙min-1

L214, 215 mg/mL should be mg∙min-1

L216, 220, 230, 238 mmol/L should be mmol ∙ L-1

L221 mL/min should be mL∙min-1

L240 L/min should be L min-1

A: Thank you for your suggestions. We have looked over some articles published in Molecules.

In this articles, the units are also described as mg/g, mg/L, mL/min, and mmol/L. The articles were listed as below.

Vaara, M. Polymyxin Derivatives that Sensitize Gram-Negative Bacteria to Other Antibiotics. Molecules 2019, 24, 249.

Wang, Y.; Xu, Z.; Huang, Y.; Wen, X.; Wu, Y.; Zhao, Y.; Ni, Y. Extraction, Purification, and Hydrolysis Behavior of Apigenin-7-O-Glucoside from Chrysanthemum Morifolium Tea. Molecules 2018, 23, 2933.

Q4: Bibliography - All parts of the journal title should be written in capital letters (1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 13). In addition, titles should be written developed.

A: The journal titles have been written in capital letters.

Reviewer 2 Report

The manuscript “Effect of weakly basic conditions on the separation and purification of flavonoids and glycosides from Chrysanthemum morifolium tea” reported the effect of weakly basic conditions on the separation and purification of flavonoids and glycosides from Chrysanthemum morifolium by HPLC-DAD, as well as clarified the hydrolysis mechanism of caffeoylquinic acids. The manuscript should be accepted to be published in molecules after minor revisions.

All abbreviations should be descripted when used for the first time.

Line 107: “…0 mmol/L to 400 mmol/L,…0 h to 2.5 h” should be “…0 to 400 mmol/L, ,…0 to 2.5 h”

Fig. 2a. Please use the letter in alphabetic order. In Fig. 2b and 2c please remove the space between columns. The units in axis should be placed in parentheses.

Conclusions: Please take into account the word Because, is excessively used.

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

Hope everything is fun with you.

Thank you for your kindly suggestions and comments. This manuscript is revised according to your suggestions.

All revisions have been clearly highlighted in red colour.

Regards,

Yuxiao Wang

The manuscript should be accepted to be published in molecules after minor revisions.

Q1: All abbreviations should be descripted when used for the first time.

A: The abbreviations have been descripted in the abstract.

Q2: Line 107: “…0 mmol/L to 400 mmol/L,…0 h to 2.5 h” should be “…0 to 400 mmol/L, ,…0 to 2.5 h”

A: All the sentences were revised, including Line 94, 107, 131, 212, 215, and 231.

Q3: Fig. 2a. Please use the letter in alphabetic order. In Fig. 2b and 2c please remove the space between columns. The units in axis should be placed in parentheses.

A: The columns were automatically generated by the software, which could not be removed. The units in axis have been placed in parentheses.

Q4: Conclusions: Please take into account the word Because, is excessively used.

A: In Line 248, the first ‘Because’ was deleted.