title: Chemical quantification and antioxidant assay of four active components in Ficus hirta root using UPLC-PAD-MS fingerprinting combined with cluster analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Root of Ficus hirta (RFH) is widely consumed in China as a plant-derived popular food. However, contents of the active constituents of RFH are unknown, and the chemical as well as bioactive properties of RFH may be affected by growing area. In order to ensure the standard efficacy of health products made with RFH, its active constituents should firstly be determined and, secondly, a means of assessing samples for their contents of these constituents is needed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four active components, including two coumarins, namely psoralen and bergapten, and two flavonoids, namely luteolin and apigenin, in twenty RFH samples were quantified using a new ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array detector and mass spectrometry (UPLC-PAD-MS) method, and the content level in descending order was psoralen > bergapten > luteolin > apigenin. Chromatographic fingerprint similarity evaluation and cluster analysis were used to assess geographical origin of RFH, and the results revealed a high level of similarity for the tested RFH samples obtained from Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi provinces and Hong Kong. 2, 2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay was conducted to evaluate the antioxidant potencies of the four components, and the results clearly demonstrated that luteolin was most effective; apigenin exhibited a moderate potency, whereas psoralen and bergapten possessed little effect against free radical reactions. Structure-activity relationship of the components was elucidated, and the 3'-hydroxyl group of luteolin was found to be directly responsible for its antioxidant activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present UPLC-PAD-MS method and DPPH radical scavenging assay performed well for the purpose of constituent quantification and antioxidant assay. Global profiles were highly similar for RFH samples from different origins. Both the coumarins and flavonoids were involved in the health benefit of RFH.
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong, P, R, China. hbchen@hkbu.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Qilei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xicheng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Suiwai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: So
authors.forename: Yuenling
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.forename: Lanlan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Yina
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Jianye
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhongzhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Hubiao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen