ABSTRACT
Objective To in depth analyze the chemical profile of Marsdenia tenacissima using HPLC-IT-TOF-MS. Methods The pulverized materials were exacted with methanol in an ultrasonication manner and then separated on a Waters Acquity UPLC HSS T3 column (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.8 μm, Milford, MA, USA) that was eluted in gradient with 0.1% formic acid-acetonitrile. The data was collected using automatically triggered tandem mass spectrometric mode in positive/negative ionization polarities. The mass fragmentation patterns of polyoxypregnane derivatives were proposed using some authentic compounds. Results Six chlorogenic acid derivatives and 15 polyoxypregnane derivatives were definitely assigned by referring to reference components, whereas the other signals, including 100 polyoxypregnane derivatives, four flavonoids, and two chlorogenic acid derivatives were tentatively annotated via matching the acquired information with those achieved information and the proposed mass fragmentation rules. Conclusion The research efficiently and accurately analyzed the chemical profile of M. tenacissima using HPLC-IT-TOF-MS, which will provide meaningful information for the quality evaluation and the therapeutic mechanism investigation of M. tenacissima as well as its preparation Xiao-Ai-Ping.