Chemical profiling and marker characterization of Huangqin decoction prepared with three types of peony root by liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Abstract

Clarification of the quality and biological effect equivalence of traditional Chinese medicines containing multi-origin species is essential to improve their current quality standards, and also is the core problem to clarify the origins of single herbs with multi-species in Chinese formulas that will guarantee their clinical application. Huangqin decoction is the typical one of multi-origin formulas frequently used in traditional Chinese medicine and Kampo medicine. An ultra high performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry was developed for chemical profiling and marker quantification of Huangqin decoction prepared with two different original types of peony root, white and red peony root. Forty-seven main peaks in chemical profiling of Huangqin decoction prepared with white and red peony root were identified: nine were from peony root, 20 from baical skullcap root, 17 from licorice root, and one from jujubae fruit. The markers characteristics of the respective types of peony root in Huangqin decoction differ from that in single herbs, especially in terms of monoterpenoids and hydrolysable tannins. Subsequently, 17 representative markers in Huangqin decoction prepared with three types of peony root and their chemical characteristics and content distribution were carried out.

Keywords: chemical profiling; marker characterization; multi-origin species; peony; traditional Chinese medicine.