ABSTRACT
Objective: To identify the saponins in the rhizomes of Anemone davidii by ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-fight mass spectrometry (UFLC/Q-TOF-MS/MS). Methods: The separation was performed on UPLC Welch C18 column (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm), with a mobile phase using 0.1% acetonitrile (A) and water containing 0.1% formic acid (B) for gradient elution. Q-TOF/MS and electrospray ion (ESI) source were applied for the analysis under the negative ion mode, and the running time was 40.25 min. Using target compound screening method, the structures of monitored chemical constituents were identified by retention time, exact relative molecular mass, and cleavage fragments of MS/MS. Results: Fifty-two triterpenoids were separated and identified from the methanol extract of A. davidii, 47 triterpenoids were identified for the first time from A. davidii among which nine pairs of structural isomers were included. Conclusion: UPLC/Q-TOF-MS/MS method can identify the main chemical constituents from A. davidii rapidly and accurately, which develops a new strategy for identification of the chemical constituents in A. davidii.