ABSTRACT
Objective: The chemical constituents from the roots of Codonopsis tangshen were isolated and identified using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with Q-Exactive quadrupole-orbitrap MS spectrometry in positive and negative ion modes. Methods: The 50% methanol extract from the roots of C. tangshen was isolated on an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm). The mobile phase was acetonitrile and water containing 0.1% formic acid by gradient elution. The constituents in the roots of C. tangshen were rapidly isolated and identified by HRMS in the positive and negative ion mode using both full scan and two stage threshold-triggered mass modes. Results: A total of 36 compounds from the roots of C. tangshen were identified, including 7 alkaloids, 7 phenylpropanoids, 3 polyacetylenes, 6 hexanol glycosides and hexylene glycosides, 8 organic acids, 3 amino acids, 1 nucleoside, and 1 sesquiterpenoid. Among them, nine compounds were unambiguously identified comparing with the reference standards. Nineteen chemical components were reported in this plant for the first time. One of them is potential new compound. Conclusion: Chemical components in the roots of C. tangshen were isolated and identified rapidly with UPLC-Q-Exactive quadrupole-orbitrap MS technology to provide the theory basis for the study on the quality control and pharmacodynamic material.