Qualitative and quantitative analysis of phenylpropanoids in cell culture, regenerated plantlets and herbs of Saussurea involucrata

The major phenylpropanoids in the cell culture, regenerated plantlets and herbs of Saussurea involucrata were systematically and comparatively investigated. A total of 17 constituents were identified on the basis of HPLC-DAD/ESI-MSn and HPLC-ESI-IT-TOF/MS analyses. Among them, 13 constituents were unambiguously identified by comparing the retention time, UV, MS and MSn spectra of samples with standards/literature, and the other 4 constituents were tentatively assigned on the basis of their UV spectra and MSn fragmentation patterns. In addition, a quantification method for the simultaneous quantification of 3 major phenylpropanoids syringin, 5-caffeoylquinic acid, and 1,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid was successfully established. The established HPLC quantification method was proved to have excellent linearity, precision, repeatability and accuracy. These studies provide a secondary metabolic profile of the cell cultures of S. involucrata, which is valuable for improving the quality control of cell culture and sheds light on the biosynthetic pathway of phenylpropanoids in this species.