PONE-D-20-39234

Major bioactive chemical compounds in Astragali Radix samples from different vendors vary greatly

PLOS ONE

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MS 'Major bioactive chemical compounds in Astragali Radix samples from different vendors vary greatly' needs minor revision.  Kindly do the needful corrections and submit a revised MS. I also recommend doing English and grammar check before it may be considered for publication in PLOS One. 

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Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Additional Editor Comments:

MS 'Major bioactive chemical compounds in Astragali Radix samples from different vendors vary greatly' needs minor revision. Kindly do the needful corrections and submit a revised MS. I also recommend doing English and grammar check before it may be considered for publication in PLOS One.

[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.]

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: 1. How are the samples selected, are they representative or random?

2. The article discusses that the preparation types may have an impact on the compound, but there is only one method for sample C-F. Does this support the result?

3. The Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020 edition has been already promulgated and implemented. Astragaloside IV in the current Chinese Pharmacopoeia shall not be less than 0.080%, and the article should be written in accordance with the new standard.

4. Line 280-281, the author mentioned that the vendor indicated in the specifications that the content of Astragali Radix was very low. Does it make sense to choose such a sample?

5. This article mainly talks about the biologically active ingredients of Astragali Radix from different vendors, but there is too much content about the treatment of diseases. It is suggested that the Introduction needs to be revised.

Reviewer #2: This work used LC-MS/MS to evaluate the influence of different sample with standard addition and preparation types and ammonia treatment on bioactive molecules concentrations in Astragali Radix samples from different vendors. I think this is an interesting and meaningful study. Of course, the results of the work are relatively reliable, the discussion is very sufficient and the writing is very formal. I suggest accepting this article.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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Major bioactive chemical compounds in Astragali Radix samples from different vendors vary greatly

PONE-D-20-39234R1

Dear Dr. Brede,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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Kind regards,

Vijai Gupta, PhD in Microbiology

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

All the editorial, as well as reviewers comments, have been addressed. I recommend the publication of this paper in PLOS One.

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: (No Response)

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7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #1: No