ABSTRACT
Objective: To screen the frosting qualitymarkers (Q-marker) of Mori Foliumand identify Mori Folium after frost. Method: The HPLC-DAD-MSn fingerprints of Mori Folium before and after frost were established,the common peaks were markedand the characteristic components were selected by orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA). The components with a large content change were used as marker components,and the relatively stable component was used as an internal reference component. The ratio of the marker components to the peak area of the internal reference component was used as component characteristic to identify the frost of Mori Folium,andqualitative study of frosting markerswere performed by MSn and authentic standards. Result: The fingerprints were established and 33 common peaks were marked. Through OPLS-DA,peaks 1,23,14 were determined as marker components,peak 12 was determined as internal reference component. The frosting quality markers of Mori Folium were characterized as citric acid derivatives,saponin F,tryptophan and neochlorogenic acid by MSn and standards. The ratios of the peak areas of citric acid derivatives,saponin F,tryptophan and neochlorogenic acid before and after frost were 0.15±0.054,1.0±0.48; 0.14±0.073,0.98±0.48,0.13±0.088,0.89±0.49,respectively. Conclusion: In the fingerprints established in this study,the peak area ratios of citric acid derivatives,saponin F,tryptophan to new chlorogenic acid had specificity,which can be used as frosting quality markers for identification of Mori Folium. This study expanded the connotation of the Q-marker specificity of traditional Chinese medicine. The results can provide experimental data for the quality evaluation and drug-forming properties of Mori Folium,and provide reference for similar research.