Discovery of unreported ginkgolides of anti-PAF activity using characteristic ion and neutral loss recognition strategy in Ginkgo biloba L.

Ginkgolides are the most important bioactive components of Ginkgo biloba L, of which ginkgolide B has been successfully developed and marketed as a drug. The reported ginkgolides are very rare and exhibit a complex matrix due to the chemodiversity of Ginkgo biloba L. Herein, the global profile of characteristic ion and neutral loss recognition strategy were used for to discover eight undescribed ginkgolides, very rare cyclohexane ginkgolides R-V, ginkgolides D-F, and eight known ginkgolides. These ginkgolides were target isolated and identified using high-resolution mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography. The undescribed and known ginkgolides exhibited antiplatelet aggregation activities. In particular, compounds U and D had IC values of 2.20 ± 0.15 and 6.50 ± 0.87 μM, respectively. This study has enriched the known structural diversity of ginkgolides and extended the application of mass spectrometry to the global profiling of natural products present in Ginkgo biloba L. Moreover, it could help chemists rapidly discover unreported compounds from a complex matrix.