Qualitative Comparison of Chemical Compositions in Tanreqing Injection and Tanreqing Capsules by UPLC/ Q-TOF-MSE / 中国药学杂志

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To identify rapidly the chemical constituents in Tanreqing injection and Tanreqing capsules by ultra-performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/Q-TOF-MSE). METHODS: The separation was performed on a Waters Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column (1.0 mm × 100 mm, 1.7 μm) with acetonitrile-0.1% formic acid as mobile phase in gradient elution. ESI ion source was employed in negative ion mode. The differences of chemical compositions between the two preparations and the sources of these compounds were illustrated based on their retention time, accurate mass measurements and the mass fragments by comparison with those in the literature or database and the reference standards. RESULTS: A total of 111 compounds including 13 unknown components were identified or tentatively characterized. Among these compounds, 14 were derived from Scutellariae Radix (SR) intermediate, 36 were from Bear Bile Powder(BBP) intermediate, 7 were from Caprae Hircus Cornu(CHC) intermediate, 34 were from Lonicerae japonicae Flos(LJF) intermediate and 22 were from Forsythiae Fructus(FF) intermediate. Moreover, quinic acid and rutin were simultaneously detected in LJF and FF intermediates, 28 constituents were unambiguously confirmed by their reference standards. However, 71 compounds were observed both in injection and capsules, while 24 compounds were only found in Tanreqing injection and 16 compounds only in the capsules. CONCLUSION: The differences of chemical constituents between Tanreqing injection and capsules are effectively characterized by UPLC/Q-TOF-MSE method, which will facilitate the quality control of the two preparations.