ABSTRACT
Objective: To analyze the chemical differences in the fruits of Tritulus terrestris from different areas in the domestic and explore the potential chemical markers between the fruits and whole plants of T. terrestris. Methods: Chromatographic separation was carried out on the Acquity HSS T3 C18 column (100 mm×2.1 mm, 1.8 μm, Waters) with the mobile phase composed of 0.1% formic acid in water-acetonitrile in the gradient elution. A hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (Q-TOF MSE) was used for mass spectrometric analysis. The obtained datasets were processed by principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). Finally, the structures of chemical markers between fruits and whole plants were identified based on their exact mass data and fragmentation characteristics. Results: There was almost no difference in fruits of T. terrestris from different areas of China. However, the compounds existed in the fruits were different from those in the whole plants of T. terrestris. Eventually 12 chemical markers between fruits and whole plants of T. terrestris were identified online including nine chemical markers mainly distributed in the fruits and three chemical markers mainly distributed in the whole plants. Conclusion: This study could provide the guidance for the utilization of resource and treatments of T. terrestris in clinic by comparative analysis on chemical constituents in the different parts of T. terrestris from different areas.