ABSTRACT
Objective::Ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with Q-Exactive Focus hybrid quadrupole and orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometer (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS) was applied for identification of chemical constituents in Pimpinella thellungiana. Method::Chromatographic separation was performed on a WATERS BEH C18 column (2.1 mm ×50 mm, 1.7 μm). The mobile phase consisted of 0.1% formic acid aq (A) and acetonitrile (B) with a gradient elution. Mass spectral analysis were performed on Q-Exactive Focus hybrid quadrupole and orbitrap mass spectrometer. The mass spectrometer was connected to UHPLC instrument via an ESI interface. Samples were analyzed in negative ion mode by the full-scan-dd MS 2(data-dependent MS/MS) scanning mode. Then the constituents of P. thellungiana were identified by compared HRMS data with those of the standard compounds, MS cleavage mechanism and the related literatures. Result::Based on the characteristic mass data of accurate molecular weight and fragmentation ion information, 29 chemical constituents were identified including 19 chlorogenic acids, 7 flavonoids and 3 phenolic acid. Among them, the identified components except luteolin-7-O-β-D-glucuronopyranoside and apigenin-7-O-β-D-glucuronopyranoside were reported in P. thellungiana for the first time. Conclusion::The established UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS method can be used to identify the chemical constituents of P. thellungiana quickly and accurately, providing the scientific evidence for its quality evaluation and material basis research.