ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To qualitatively analyze the chemical constituents of Folium hibisci Mutabilis by high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-quadrupole-time of flight-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS). METHODS: The separation was performed on a UHPLC Welch C18 column (2.1 mm×100 mm, 1.7 μm), with acetonitrile-0.1% formic acid as the mobile phase for gradient elution; ESI ion source was used; the data was collected in a negative ion mode. The chemical components of Folium hibisci Mutabilis were identified by analyzing the retention time, exact relative molecular mass, and cleavage fragments of MS/MS. RESULTS: A total of 73 compounds were identified in Folium hibisci Mutabilis, including 42 flavonoids, 15 triterpenoids, 11 organic acids, 3 coumarins, and 2 other kinds of compounds by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. CONCLUSION: LC-MS/MS can identify the chemical components of Folium hibisci Mutabilis in a simple, which would provide a foundation for further exploration of the effective substances of Folium hibisci Mutabilis.