Rapid identification of oleanane-type saponins in the roots of Stephanotis mucronata by liquid chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

The liquid chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for analyses and characterization of oleanane-type saponins in the roots of Stephanotis mucronata. Collision-induced dissociation have been performed in order to elucidate the degradation pathways for the [M+Na]+ ions and their predominant product ions. The following characteristic fragmentation was observed from the title saponins: when the substituent (except hydroxyl group) located at C21 position, direct loss of terminal sugar residue from the [M+Na]+ ion was observed; when the substituent (except hydroxyl group) linked to C22 position, the loss of the terminal sugar cannot occur. To further confirm the structures, offline Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance tandem mass spectrometry (FTICR-MSn) was performed. The structures of four proposed saponins have been identified by 1D and 2D NMR experiments. In this study, 12 saponins were identified. Among them, to our knowledge, four saponins were reported in this plant for the first time and four saponins were presumed to be new compounds. Hence, the described method has wide applicability to rapidly screen and provide structural information of oleanane-type saponins in crude materials.