Abstract
Rhizoma Anemarrhenae, a famous traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), is the dried rhizome of Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bge. (Anemarrhena Bunge of Liliaceae). The medicine presents anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, sedative, and diuretic effects. The chemical constituents of Rhizoma Anemarrhenae are complex and diverse, mainly including steroidal saponins, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, benzophenones, and alkaloids. In this study, UPLC-Q-TOF/MS was used in combination with data postprocessing techniques, including characteristic fragments filter and neutral loss filter, to rapidly classify and identify the five types of substances in Rhizoma Anemarrhenae. On the basis of numerous literature reviews and according to the corresponding characteristic fragments produced by different types of compounds in combination with neutral loss filtering, we summarized the fragmentation patterns of the main five types of compounds and successfully screened and identified 32 chemical constituents in Rhizoma Anemarrhenae. The components included 18 steroidal saponins, 6 flavonoids, 4 phenylpropanoids, 2 alkaloids, and 2 benzophenones. The method established in this study provided necessary data for the study on the pharmacological effects of Rhizoma Anemarrhenae and also provided the basis for the chemical analysis and quality control of TCMs to promote the development of a method for chemical research on TCMs.
Highlights
Rhizoma Anemarrhenae is one of the traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) that are commonly used for clearing heat and purging fire, nourishing yin, moistening dryness, reducing anxiety and thirst, and promoting excretion
We summarized the fragmentation patterns of compounds in Rhizoma Anemarrhenae according to the mass spectrometric behavior; that is, the same type of compounds with the same or similar public skeleton usually show the same fracture mode to produce the same CFs
The method that uses CFs to determine a certain type of compounds is called characteristic fragments filter (CFF)
Summary
Rhizoma Anemarrhenae is one of the traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) that are commonly used for clearing heat and purging fire, nourishing yin, moistening dryness, reducing anxiety and thirst, and promoting excretion. As a comprehensive analysis technique, UPLC-QTOF/MS has been increasingly applied for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of components in TCMs and compound preparations [6,7,8,9,10,11] This method displays several disadvantages, including complicated and time-consuming data processing. A newly developed method to rapidly identify components in TCMs is urgently needed to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the qualitative analysis and to promote the development of modernization and internationalization of TCMs. With the rapid development of modern technology, data postprocessing techniques, mainly including characteristic fragments filter (CFF) and neutral loss filter (NLF), play increasingly important roles in TCM research [12,13,14,15,16,17].
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