An ultra-performance liquid chromatography-high definition mass spectrometry (UPLC-HDMS) method was developed for detection and characterization of the chemical constituents in ShengMai San (SMS), a traditional Chinese medical formula (TCMF). The full-scan LC-MS/MS data sets combined with extra mass were acquired within 14 min using UPLC-HDMS in the MS(E) mode in a single injection. As a result, 92 compounds were identified by comparing the accurate mass and fragments information with that of the authentic standards as well as by MS analysis and the correlative references data. These constituents included ginsenosides, lignans, steroidal saponins and homoisoflavanones. Among them, 25-hydroxyginsenosides were discovered in SMS for the first time. Compare with the previous studies, our research detected more compounds and presented more rapid by applying UPLC-HDMS. It is concluded that a rapid and effective method has been established based on UPLC-HDMS with the utilization of MS(E) , which shows high sensitivity and resolution that is suitable for identifying the constituents of SMS, and this method could be applied to other TCMF.

Schisandra chinensis Baill grows wild in Russia, China, Korea and Japan, and its fruit has been found to be effective in amnesia and insomnia. It is enriched in schisandra lignans (SL) that are major components responsible for therapeutic action. However, there are no reports on the biotransformation analysis of SL. An ultra-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray-ionization high-definition mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-HDMS) method was developed to investigate the metabolism of SL in vivo. MS was performed on a Waters Micromass high-definition system with an electrospray ionization source in positive ion mode and automated MetaboLynx software analysis with excellent MS accuracy and enhanced MS data acquisition. An improved mass defect filter (MDF) method employing both drug and core structure filter templates was applied to the processing of UPLC-Q-TOF-HDMS data for the detection and structural characterization of metabolites. In this study, 30 metabolites were detected and identified in vivo, and demethylation and hydroxylation were confirmed as the primacy metabolic pathway for SL in rat plasma. In conclusion, the presently developed methodology was suitable for biotransformation research of SL and will find wide use in metabolic studies for other herbal medicines.

Shengmaisan (SMS) is a traditional Chinese medicine prescription widely used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in Asia. Its lignans are major components responsible for therapeutic action. A rapid and specific UPLC-Q-TOF/MS has been developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of the five main bioactive components, i.e. schisandrin, schisandrol B, schisantherin A, deoxyschisandrin, and schisandrin B, in rat plasma after oral administration of SMS. All calibration curves showed excellent linearity within the test ranges. Validation proved the repeatability of the method was good and recovery was satisfactory. The separation of these compounds was carried out on a Waters ACQUITY HSS T(3) column (2.1 × 100 mm, 1.8 μm) by linear gradient elution using a mobile phase consisting of 0.01% formic acid in water and ACN containing 0.01% formic acid. In this work, plasma pharmacokinetic characteristics of lignans components after oral administration SMS were investigated using UPLC-Q-TOF/MS method. MS was performed on a Waters Micromass high-definition technology with an ESI source. Data were analyzed and estimated by compartmental methods and pharmacokinetic parameters calculated using WinNonlin Professional version 6.1. Results demonstrated that the proposed UPLC-Q-TOF/MS method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic study of all components in rat plasma after oral administration of the SMS.

A rapid and robust UPLC-Q-TOF-HDMS approach has been applied for the online identification of multiple components in rat plasma after the oral administration of SMS.

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