Chemome profiling of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium using UHPLC-IT-TOF-MS / 中国中药杂志

Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium(CRP, Chinese name: Chenpi) is one of the most famous edible traditional Chinese medicines(TCMs). CRP was first recorded as top grade TCM in Shennong Bencao Jing attributing to the benefits such as regulating Qi, tonifying spleen, eliminating dampness and eliminating phlegm, and has been widely utilized for the treatments of abdominal fullness and distention, vomiting and diarrhea, as well as phlegm cough. CRP is also widely popular as spice in food industry. Because of the wide cultivation, a number of brands that exhibit extensive price range can be found in the market, resulting in a great challenge for grading. Herein, an attempt was made to in-depth chemome profiling for the sake of providing meaningful information of the universal quality control of CRP. A new core-shell column packed with adamantylethyl substituted silica gel particles was deployed for chromatographic separations and IT-TOF-MS that is advantageous at providing abundant high resolution molecular and fragment ions was employed for qualitative detection. A total of 62 components were observed and 61 ones were structurally annotated according to proposing mass fragmentation patterns, matching with reference compounds and relevant databases, and the chemical families included flavone, limonin, etc. In particular, ten compounds bearing 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutarate substitute were detected from CRP for the first time. Above all, the chemical profile of CRP was characterized and the findings are meaningful for the in-depth quality assessment and efficacy material clarification of CRP.

Chemical characterization for flowers and lignified stems of Cistanche deserticola / 中国中药杂志

As a holoparasitic plant, Cistanche deserticola is one of the two original sources of Cistanches Herba that is one of the most famous tonic medicines, in Chinese Pharmacopoeia. The succulent stems are used for medicinal usage, whereas those lignified stems as well as flowers of less pharmacological importance are usually deserted, suggesting extensive resource waste. Herein, chemical characterization of the flowers along with lignified stems was conducted using HPLC-IT-TOF-MS aiming to explore the medicinal valu of those non-medicinal parts. Following ultrasonication-assisted extraction with 50% aqueous methanol, either flower or lignified stem extract was subjected onto LC-IT-TOF-MS equipped with a Capcell core ADME column to acquire both MS¹ and MSº spectra, and gradient elution was carried out with combinatory 0.1% aqueous formic acid and acetonitrile. Both positive and negative ionization polarities were deployed, resulting in the observation of 62 components, in total. Thirty-nine signals were structurally annotated, including phenylethanoid glycosides, iridoids, lignans and saccharides according to matching with authentic components and literature information, as well as applying the proposed mass fragmentation rules. A total of 62 ones were putatively identified. Above all, lignified stems and flowers should not the qualified substitutes for the succulent stems attributing to the significant differences between the medicinal portion and those parts with less medicinal values.

Chemical profile characterization of Marsdenia tenacissima using HPLC-IT-TOF-MS / 中草药

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.