Chemical Profiles and Simultaneous Quantification of Aurantii fructus by Use of HPLC-Q-TOF-MS Combined with GC-MS and HPLC Methods

Aurantii fructus (AF) is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been used to improve gastrointestinal motility disorders for over a thousand years, but there is no exhaustive identification of the basic chemical components and comprehensive quality control of this herb. In this study, high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q-TOF-MS) and gas chromatography coupled mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were employed to identify the basic chemical compounds, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was developed to determine the major biochemical markers from AF extract. There were 104 compounds belonging to eight structure types, including 13 amino acids or peptides, seven alkaloids, 18 flavanones, 14 flavones, 15 polymethoxyflavonoids, six triterpenoids, nine coumarins, and 18 volatile oils, as well as four other compounds that were systematically identified as the basic components from AF, and among them, 41 compounds were reported for the first time. Twelve bioactive ingredients were chosen as the benchmark markers to evaluate the quality of AF. The analysis was completed with a gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.7 mL/min within 55 min. This efficient method was validated showing good linearity, precision, stability, repeatability and recovery. Furthermore, the method was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of 12 chemical markers in different samples of AF. This study could be applied to the identification of multiple bioactive substances and improve the quality control of AF.

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Chemical Profiling of Lobelia chinensis with High-Performance Liquid Chromatography/Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (HPLC/Q-TOF MS) Reveals Absence of Lobeline in the Herb

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules23123258 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 23 (12) ◽

pp. 3258 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Haixing Wang ◽

Yuanyuan Li ◽

Yeqing Huang ◽

Chunyan Zhao ◽

Hon-Yeung Cheung

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

High Performance Liquid Chromatography ◽

Liquid Chromatography ◽

High Performance ◽

Chemical Constituents ◽

Time Of Flight ◽

Chemical Components ◽

Chemical Profiling ◽

Flight Mass Spectrometry ◽

Tof Ms

Lobelia chinensis is a kind of herbal medicine widely distributed and used in Asia. The chemical components of this herb, however, have not been well studied until now. Lobeline, as an essential and famous bioactive compound in Lobelia genus, has been assumed to be present in L. chinensis. In order to ascertain its presence and, more importantly, proper use of this herb, chemical profiling this herb with highly sensitive and high-resolution analytical mass spectrometry was applied. In this study, high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC/Q-TOF MS) method was employed to systematically profile the chemical constituents of L. chinensis for the first time. Comparative chemical profiling study of L. chinensis and Lobelia inflata was also conducted to provide evidence whether lobeline is present or not. Piperidine alkaloids except for lobeline, alkaloid-lignan hybrids, flavonoids, polyacetylenes, nonanedioic acid, and some new phytochemicals were successfully identified in L. chinensis simultaneously. Comparing to the chemical profiles of L. inflata, lobeline was found to be absent in L. chinensis. All of the secondary metabolites in L. chinensis were determined with the HPLC/Q-TOF MS method. The absence of lobeline in L. chinensis was confirmed after this extensive study.

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