ABSTRACT
To analyze components of Citrus reticulata and salt-processed C. reticulata by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS), and compared the changes in components before and after being processed with salt. Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were adopted to analyze the difference in fingerprint between crude and processed C. reticulata, showing increased content of eriocitrin, limonin, nomilin and obacunone increase in salt-processed C. reticulata. Potential chemical markers were identified as limonin, obacunone and nomilin, which could be used for distinguishing index components of crude and processed C. reticulata.