title: Structural characterization and identification of iridoid glycosides, saponins, phenolic acids and flavonoids in Flos Lonicerae Japonicae by a fast liquid chromatography method with diode-array detection and time-of-flight mass spectrometry.
abstract: A fast liquid chromatography method with diode-array detection (DAD) and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) has been developed for analysis of constituents in Flos Lonicerae Japonicae (FLJ), a traditional Chinese medicine derived from the flower bud of Lonicera japonica. The chromatographic analytical time decreased to 25 min without sacrificing resolution using a column packed with 1.8-microm porous particles (4.6 x 50 mm), three times faster than the performance of conventional 5.0-microm columns (4.6 x 150 mm). Four major groups of compounds previously isolated from FLJ were structurally characterized by DAD-TOF-MS: iridoid glycosides showed maximum UV absorption at 240 nm; phenolic acids at 217, 242, and 326 nm; flavonoids at 255 and 355 nm; while saponins had no absorption. In electrospray ionization (ESI)-TOF-MS experiments, elimination of a glucose unit (162 Da), and successive losses of H(2)O, CH(3)OH and CO, were generally observed in iridoid glycosides; saponins were characterized by a series of identical aglycone ions; phenolic acids typically generated a base peak at [M-H-caffeoyl](-) by loss of a caffeic acid unit (162 Da) and several marked quinic acid moiety ions; cleavage of the glycosidic bond (loss of 162 or 308 Da), subsequent losses of H(2)O, CO, RDA and C-ring fragmentation were the most possible fragmentation pathways for flavonoids. By accurate mass measurements within 4 ppm error for each molecular ion and subsequent fragment ions, as well as the 'full mass spectral' information of TOF-MS, a total of 41 compounds including 13 iridoid glycosides, 11 phenolic acids, 7 saponins, and 10 flavonoids were identified in a methanolic extract of FLJ.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicines (China Pharmaceutical University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors.forename: Lian-Wen
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Chun-Yun
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000737:chemistry*; D006027:Glycosides / Q000737:chemistry*; D062385:Hydroxybenzoates / Q000737:chemistry*; D039823:Iridoids / Q000737:chemistry; D031239:Lonicera / Q000737:chemistry*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D005419:Flavonoids; D006027:Glycosides; D062385:Hydroxybenzoates; D039823:Iridoids; C017616:phenolic acid