Qualitative Analysis and Componential Differences of Chemical Constituents in Taxilli Herba from Different Hosts by UFLC-Triple TOF-MS/MS.

Shengxin Yin,Lifang Wei,Zhichen Cai,Shengjin Liu,Haijie Chen,Li Li,Cuihua Chen,Jiahuan Yuan,Lisi Zou,Xunhong Liu,Wenxin Wang,Yuqi Mei,Nan Wu

doi:10.3390/molecules26216373

Abstract

Taxilli Herba (TH) is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with a wide range of clinical application. However, there is a lack of comprehensive research on its chemical composition in recent years. At the same time, Taxillus chinensis (DC) Danser is a semi parasitic plant with abundant hosts, and its chemical constituents varies due to hosts. In this study, the characterization of chemical constituents in TH was analyzed by ultra-fast liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole-time of flight tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC-Triple TOF-MS/MS). Moreover, partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was applied to reveal the differential constituents in TH from different hosts based on the qualitative information of the chemical constituents. Results showed that 73 constituents in TH were identified or tentatively presumed, including flavonoids, phenolic acids and glycosides, and others; meanwhile, the fragmentation pathways of different types of compounds were preliminarily deduced by the fragmentation behavior of the major constituents. In addition, 23 differential characteristic constituents were screened based on variable importance in projection (VIP) and p-value. Among them, quercetin 3-O-β-D-glucuronide, quercitrin and hyperoside were common differential constituents. Our research will contribute to comprehensive evaluation and intrinsic quality control of TH, and provide a scientific basis for the variety identification of medicinal materials from different hosts.

Highlights

The traditional Chinese medicine Taxilli Herba (TH) is the dried stems and branches with leaves of Taxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser
The results showed that the chromatogram had the most peaks and the extraction efficiency was relatively high with the conditions of a 1:30 ratio in 50% methanol for 30 min at room temperature
The scores scatter plot of partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) showed that the samples from Morus alba L. and other hosts were significantly divided into two groups (Figure 5). 23 differential chemical constituents were initially identified of samples from 7 hosts, and the relative contents of three common differential constituents of quercetin 3-O-β-D-glucuronide, quercitrin and hyperoside in TH from Morus alba L. were higher than that of samples from other hosts (Figure 6)

Summary

Introduction

The traditional Chinese medicine Taxilli Herba (TH) is the dried stems and branches with leaves of Taxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser. It is a famous genuine medicinal material of Guangxi Province in China, with the properties of dispelling rheumatism, nourishing liver and kidney, strengthening muscles and bones, and miscarriage prevention. Chemical composition is the material basis of clinical efficacy. The chemical constituents of TH is still lack of in-depth analysis. Flavonoids were recommended as the inspection indicators in the quality evaluation reports, mainly focusing on the quantitative determination of quercetin, quercitrin and avicularin. It is of great significance to clarify the main chemical constituents of TH for better control the quality of medicinal materials

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion