In Korea, Angelica gigas is commonly known as Danggui. However, two other species on the market, Angelica acutiloba and Angelica sinensis, are also commonly called Danggui. Since the three Angelica species have different biologically active components, thus, different pharmacological activities, clear discrimination between them is needed to prevent their misuse. A. gigas is used not only as a cut or powdered product but also in processed foods, where it is mixed with other ingredients. To discriminate between the three Angelica species, reference samples were analysed as non-targeted using liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight/mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF/MS) and a metabolomics approach in which a discrimination model was established by partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Then, the Angelica species in the processed foods were identified. First, 32 peaks were selected as marker compounds and a discrimination model was created using PLS-DA, and its validation was confirmed. Classification of the Angelica species was undertaken using the YPredPS value, and it was confirmed that all 21 foods examined contained the appropriate Angelica species indicated on the product packaging. Likewise, it was confirmed that all three Angelica species were accurately classified in the samples to which they were added.
Keywords: Angelica herbs; liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry; metabolomics approach; processed foods.