Qualitative analysis of chemical components in Lianhua Qingwen capsule by HPLC-Q Exactive-Orbitrap-MS coupled with GC-MS

Abstract

The Lianhua Qingwen (LHQW) capsule is a popular traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of viral respiratory diseases. In particular, it has been recently prescribed to treat infections caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, due to its complex composition, little attention has been directed toward the analysis of chemical constituents present in the LHQW capsule. This study presents a reliable and comprehensive approach to characterizing the chemical constituents present in LHQW by high-performance liquid chromatography-Q Exactive-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q Exactive-Orbitrap-MS) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). An automated library alignment method with a high mass accuracy (within 5 ppm) was used for the rapid identification of compounds. A total of 104 compounds, consisting of alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, phenolic acids, phenylpropanoids, quinones, terpenoids, and other phytochemicals, were successfully characterized. In addition, the fragmentation pathways and characteristic fragments of some representative compounds were elucidated. GC-MS analysis was conducted to characterize the volatile compounds present in LHQW. In total, 17 compounds were putatively characterized by comparing the acquired data with that from the NIST library. The major constituent was menthol, and all the other compounds were terpenoids. This is the first comprehensive report on the identification of the major chemical constituents present in the LHQW capsule by HPLC-Q Exactive-Orbitrap-MS, coupled with GC-MS, and the results of this study can be used for the quality control and standardization of LHQW capsules.

Bioanalytics in In Vitro and In Vivo Transformation of Biologically Active Compounds for the Needs of Biomedical Diagnostics

“…Each technique mentioned above has its advantages and disadvantages; that is why the choice of the applied method depends on the objective of the experiment, which may be purely qualitative or quantitative. Nevertheless, for some time, the use of mass spectrometry along with chromatographic techniques (GC-MS and LC-MS) have prevailed in metabolomics tests, the evidence of which have been numerous scientific publications Those techniques are characterized by high sensitivity and selectivity in relation to examined analytes [10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Mass spectrometry (MS) is now the most important method of the identification of substances used in metabolomics.…”

“…In order to comprehensively study the metabolome, a parallel application of several combined techniques is used, and the most popular combinations include gas chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometer (GC/MS) and liquid chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometer (LC/MS). Both techniques are varied through the use of various ion sources, mass analyzers, acquisition mode, and instrumental parameters [10][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”

“…As a result of the analysis, we obtain mass spectra that can be compared using mass spectral libraries without the need to record spectra for reference compounds. This results in a reduction in the time of identification of metabolites [10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. 2.…”

“…By using very small grain sizes in the column (1.7 μm) and high pressure (60 MPa), higher efficiency for the column, higher sensitivity, shorter analysis time, and lower reagent consumption can be achieved. Despite the differences, both techniques are widely used in the study of metabolites [10][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”

“…In this technique, various mass analyzers can be used, such as the time-of-flight (TOF) analyzer, Orbitrap, and ion trap, but more and more often, the analyzer systems in tandem mass spectrometers (MS/MS) are used, where two analyzers and a collision chamber are used. The most popular MS/MS systems are: triple quadrupole (QQQ) and flight time analyzer combined with quadrupole (Q-TOF) [10][11][12][13][14][15][16], Table 1.…”