RESUMO
The flower bud of Tussilago farfara L. has been commonly used in the treatment of cough, bronchitis and asthmatic disorders in the Traditional Chinese Medicine. In Europe, the leaves were also used as herbal drugs with similar pharmacological activities. In order to utilize the leaves, it is important to conduct the chemical comparison between the flower buds and the leaves. In this study, ultra high liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with Q Exactive high resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS) was used to compare the chemical composition of the flower buds and leaves of T. farfara L. forty three metabolites were identified by the combination of targeted and untargeted approach. The results suggest that the sesquiterpenes, such as tussilagone and 7β-(3'-ethyl-cis-crotonoyloxy)-1α-(2'-methylbutyryloxy)-3(14)-dehydro-Z-notonipetranone were higher in the flower buds. While the phenylpropanoids, such as cholorgenic acid and isochlorogenic acid were higher in the leaves. The flavonoids, such as hyperin and quercetin exhibited no difference between the flower buds and leaves, while the rutin and kaempferol were higher in the flower buds. The leaves and flower buds had similar chemical components, and the phenylpropanoids, which were closely related with the antitussive and expectorant activities, were found at higher concentrations in the leaves. The results presented here laid the basis for the rational utilization of the leaves of T. farfara L.