Identification and comparative analysis of the major chemical constituents in the extracts of single Fuzi herb and Fuzi-Gancao herb-pair by UFLC-IT-TOF/MS

AimThe aim of this work was to establish a specific and sensitive method to comprehensively investigate and compare chemical constituents of Fuzi-Gancao herb pair (FG), consisting of Aconitum carmichaelii Debeaux (Fuzi, Chinese) and Roast Radix Glycyrrhizae (Glycyrrhiza glabra L., Gancao, in Chinese) and Fuzi alone to explore the underlying interaction mechanism of FG.MethodAn ultra-fast liquid chromatography-ion trap/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UFLC/MS-IT-TOF) method using diazepam as internal standard was developed for the identification and semi-quantitative analysis of the phytochemical constituents of Fuzi and FG. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a UFLC column using a gradient program with 40 mmol·L−1 ammonium acetate and acetonitrile as the mobile phase.ResultsFifty-one of the sixty compounds, including forty-five C19-diterpenoid alkaloids and six C20-diterpenoid alkaloids were tentatively identified in the extracts of Fuzi and FG through accurate mass measurements and fragmentation patterns. Comparing the contents of these alkaloids in these two extracts, it was found that the diester-diterpenoid alkaloids (DDAs) and the alkylolamine-diterpenoid alkaloids (ADAs) were increased, while the monoester-diterpenoid alkaloids (MDAs) were decreased in the extracts of FG.ConclusionThis work provided comprehensive information for the quality control of Fuzi preparations, and the further investigation on the compatibility mechanisms of FG