Screening and identification of steroidal saponins from Anemarrhena asphodeloides employing UPLC tandem triple quadrupole linear ion trap mass spectrometry

- Untargeted screening of potential A. asphodeloides SSs was performed by UPLC-MIM-IDA-EPI.
- Mass fragmentation pathways of furostane and spirostane SSs were summarized.
- An identification protocol was constructed to analyze SSs using energy-resolved MIM/MRM-EPI.
- 13 potential new SSs were discovered and tentatively identified in A. asphodeloides.

This study presents a practical and valid strategy for the screening and structural characterization of Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bge steroidal saponins (SSs) using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole linear ion trap mass spectrometry. The whole analytical protocols integrate four-step procedures in the positive mode: (1) rational deduction of mass fragmentation pathways of A. asphodeloides SSs; (2) untargeted screening of potential A. asphodeloides SSs by multiple-ion monitoring-information-dependent-acquiring-enhanced product ion (MIM-IDA-EPI) scan through reverse phase liquid chromatography; (3) comprehensive construction of an ammoniated precursor ion database by combining untargeted MIM-IDA-EPI scans and data literature; and (4) structural interpretation of targeted A. asphodeloides SSs using MIM-IDA-EPI and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM)-IDA-EPI with an energy-resolved technique. The protocols were used to analyze SSs in A. asphodeloides; of the 87 detected SSs that were unambiguously characterized or tentatively identified, 19 compounds were the first to be reported from A. asphodeloides and 13 ones were characterized as potential new compounds. Accuracy of the analytical procedure was demonstrated by structural identification of three SSs by NMR spectroscopy. The proposed schemes hold an excellent promise in the structural prediction and interpretation of complex SSs from plant medicines by mass spectrometry.