High-throughput LC-MS method for the rapid characterisation and comparative analysis of multiple ingredients of four hawthorn leaf extracts.

Abstract

The comprehensive component characterisation of Chinese herbal medicine is the premise of effectively driving the discovery of pharmacodynamic substances or new drugs in recent years. To use the high-throughput liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) approach to systematically characterise phytochemical compounds from four hawthorn leaf extracts, along with evaluating their classification. In the present study, the compounds from 50% ethanol extract, macro porous resin extract, ethyl acetate extract and standard decoction of hawthorn leaves were completely analysed by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Eight-nine compounds were putatively identified by comparison with secondary MS data and available references. Of these compounds identified, 56 compounds were found for the first time in hawthorn leaves, which was somewhat inconsistent with the findings of other studies. It could be inferred that falconoid, organic acids and nitrogenous compounds were the most abundant in 50% ethanol extract and standard decoction extract, which were considered as better choices for extracting hawthorn leaves. This work developed a simple, accurate and rapid method for the compound identification of hawthorn leaves, which laid the basis for further discovering pharmacodynamic material basis or new drugs from hawthorn leaves.