Chemical profiling and quantification of Gua-Lou-Gui-Zhi decoction by high performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry and ultra-performance liquid chromatography/triple quadrupole mass spectrometry

Gua-Lou-Gui-Zhi decoction (GLGZD) is a classical formula of traditional Chinese medicine, which has been commonly used to treat dysfunction after stroke, epilepsy and spinal cord injury. In this study, a systematic method was established for chemical profiling and quantification analysis of the major constituents in GLGZD. For qualitative analysis, a method of high performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (Q-TOF MS) was developed. 106 compounds, including monoterpene glycosides, galloyl glucoses, phenolic acids, flavonoids, gingerols and triterpene saponins were identified or tentatively presumed by comparison with reference standards or literature data. According to the qualitative results, a new quantitative analysis method of ultra-performance liquid chromatography/triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (QqQ-MS) was established. 24 representative compounds were simultaneously detected in 10 batches of GLGZD samples in 7.5 min. The calibration curves for all analytes showed good linearity (r > 0.9959) within the test ranges. The LODs and the LOQs were less than 30.6 and 70.9 ng/mL, respectively. The RSDs of intra- and inter-day precision, repeatability and stability were below 3.64%, 4.85%, 4.84% and 3.87%, respectively. The overall recoveries ranged from 94.94% to 103.66%, with the RSDs within 5.12%. This study established a high sensitive and efficient method for the integrating quality control, including identification and quantification of Chinese medicinal preparation.