Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. is a plant that has been classified as one of the “One Root of Medicine and Food”, and it can be used both as medicine and as food. To explore the influence of different varieties and harvest periods on the quality of different medicinal parts of P. frutescens, a comprehensive study on the chemical constituents of P. frutescens based on plant metabolomics was conducted. A total of 57 nonvolatile chemical components and 105 volatile chemical components of P. frutescens were characterized by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Furthermore, 35, 27, and 2 nonvolatile constituents as well as 16, 16, and 18 volatile constituents were identified as potential markers for discriminating P. frutescens between different medicinal parts, different varieties, and different harvest periods, respectively. Besides, 22 bioactive compounds of P. frutescens were quantitatively determined by a new sensitive UPLC-MS/MS method. This study comprehensively compares the differences and similarities of P. frutescens among the different medicinal parts, different varieties, and different harvest periods, and the results of this study may provide a theoretical basis and guidance for studying the quality evaluation and the optimization of the harvest period of this plant.

The root of Panax notoginseng, a highly valued medicine and functional food, is the main part used for medicinal purposes. However, the stems and leaves are also used in practice. To provide a chemical basis for various uses, a quantitative comparison of 18 saponins using a non-targeted metabolomics approach was established, so as to investigate the chemical profiles of the different parts of P. notoginseng. The established strategy revealed that roots and stems, with their similar chemical characteristics, consisted mainly of protopanaxatriol-type saponins, whereas protopanaxadiol-type saponins were principally present in the leaves. Multivariate analysis further suggested that the quality of the stems and leaves of P. notoginseng was significantly affected by its geographical origin. Furthermore, 52 constituents (26 non-volatile and 26 volatile) were identified as potential markers for discriminating between different parts of the plant. Taken together, the study provides comprehensive chemical evidence for the rational application and exploitation of different parts of P. notoginseng.

Geo-authentic herbs refer to medicinal materials produced in a specific region with superior quality. Stephania tetrandra S. Moore (S. tetrandra) is cultivated in many provinces of China, including Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, and Taiwan, among which Jiangxi is the geo-authentic origin. To explore habitat-related chemical markers of herbal medicine, an integrated chromatographic technique including gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) combined with chemometric analysis was established. The established methods manifested that they were clearly divided into two groups according to non-authentic origins and geo-authentic origins, suggesting that the metabolites were closely related to their producing areas. A total of 70 volatile compounds and 50 non-volatile compounds were identified in S. tetrandra. Meanwhile, tetrandrine, fangchinoline, isocorydine, magnocurarine, magnoflorine, boldine, and higenamine as chemical markers were accurately quantified and suggested importance in grouping non-authentic origins and geo-authentic origins samples. The discriminatory analysis also indicated well prediction performance with an accuracy of 80%. The results showed that the multiple chromatographic and chemometric analysis technique could be used as an effective approach for discovering the chemical markers of herbal medicine to fulfill the evaluation of overall chemical consistency among samples from different producing areas.

Prunus mume fructus (MF) is used in traditional Chinese medicine and food, as it exerts pharmacological effects, such as antibacterial, antioxidant, antitumour, thirst-relieving, and antidiarrheal effects. In the present study, a reliable and sensitive ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of 16 prototype components (L-(-)-malic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde, protocatechuic acid, vanillic acid, caffeic acid, D-(-)-quinic acid, citric acid, ferulic acid, syringic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, neochlorogenic acid, chlorogenic acid, amygdalin, maslinic acid, corosolic acid, and rutin) in rat plasma after oral administration of the MF extract. Plasma samples were prepared via protein precipitation using acetonitrile. The 16 components were separated on an ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column (2.1 × 100 mm, 1.7 μm) with a gradient mobile phase system of methanol and 0.1% (v/v) formic acid aqueous solution at a flow rate of 0.3 ml/min. All components were quantitated using Agilent Jet Stream electrospray ionisation in negative ion mode. The intra-day and inter-day accuracies ranged from-9.4 to 9.4%, and the precision of the analytes was less than 14.8%. The extraction recovery rate of the analytes ranged from 63.59 to 109.44% and the matrix effects ranged from 49.25 to 109.28%. Stability studies proved that the analytes were stable under the tested conditions, with a relative standard deviation lower than 13.7%. Hence, the developed method was successfully applied to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of 16 components in the MF extract after oral administration in rats using UPLC-MS/MS.