Jinbiao Liu, Xinyue Zhang, Shenshen Yang, Shuo Wang, Chengcheng Liu, Bin Yang, Yubo Li, Ting Cai
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China.
Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 10 Poyang Lake Road, West Zone, Tuanbo New City, Jinghai District, Tianjin 301617, China.
J Anal Methods Chem. 2022 Feb 15;2022:6463770. doi: 10.1155/2022/6463770. eCollection 2022.
Saponins are the main active components in C. A. Mey. (PG), L. (PQ), and C. A. Mey. (PJ), which belong to the genus in the Araliaceae family. Because the chemical components in the three species are similar, they are often mixed and misused in functional foods and pharmaceuticals applications. Therefore, it is urgent to establish a method to quickly distinguish among PG, PQ, and PJ. Ultraperformance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) was combined with data postprocessing to identify the main characteristic fragments (CFs) and the related neutral losses (NLs) of protopanaxadiol (PPD), protopanaxatriol (PPT), oleanolic acid (OLE), and ocotillol- (OCO-) type saponins. By comparing the mass spectral data, it was possible to rapidly classify and identify saponins in PG, PQ, and PJ. A total of twenty-three chemical components were identified in the PG samples, twenty-three components were identified in the PQ samples, and twenty-seven components were identified in the PJ samples. Among them, OCO-type saponins were characteristic of PQ and PJ. Ginsenoside Rf, which was absent from PQ, allowed for differentiation between PQ and PJ. The CFs and NLs in the mass spectra of the characteristic components of PG, PQ, and PJ allowed for the rapid classification and identification of these species. Additionally, these results provide technical support for the quality evaluation of Chinese herbal medicine and for constructing a scientific regulatory system.
皂苷是五加科人参属植物西洋参（PG）、三七（PQ）和竹节参（PJ）中的主要活性成分。由于这三种植物的化学成分相似，它们在功能性食品和医药应用中常被混淆和误用。因此，迫切需要建立一种快速区分PG、PQ和PJ的方法。超高效液相色谱四极杆飞行时间质谱（UPLC-Q-TOF/MS）结合数据后处理，以鉴定原人参二醇（PPD）、原人参三醇（PPT）、齐墩果酸（OLE）和奥克梯隆醇（OCO）型皂苷的主要特征碎片（CFs）和相关中性丢失（NLs）。通过比较质谱数据，可以快速对PG、PQ和PJ中的皂苷进行分类和鉴定。在PG样品中总共鉴定出23种化学成分，在PQ样品中鉴定出23种成分，在PJ样品中鉴定出27种成分。其中，OCO型皂苷是PQ和PJ的特征成分。PQ中不存在的人参皂苷Rf可用于区分PQ和PJ。PG、PQ和PJ特征成分质谱中的CFs和NLs有助于快速对这些物种进行分类和鉴定。此外，这些结果为中药质量评价和构建科学监管体系提供了技术支持。
