title: Identification of ambiguous cubeb fruit by DART-MS-based fingerprinting combined with principal component analysis.
abstract: The cubeb berry has been used as a spice and medicinal herb since medieval times. In China, Litsea cubeba (Lauraceae) has been designated as the cubeb tree; in other countries, Piper cubeba (Piperaceae) is considered as the cubeb. Since most cubeb berries in the Korean market are imported from China, there is a need to develop an efficient analytical method for the identification of the origin of cubeb fruit. Thirty-two commercial cubeb samples were collected from China, Korea, and Indonesia, and direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) was employed to obtain a chemical fingerprint of each sample for multivariate analysis. Cubebene was identified as a marker molecule for P. cubeba, and all cubeb samples from Korean markets were identified as the fruit of L. cubeba. DART-MS fingerprinting together with principal component analysis can be applied as a promising method for rapid identification and/or quality control of cubeb berries.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hye Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Korea Drug Test Laboratory, Seoul 130-864, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Wan Sook
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Baek
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea; Department of Life and Nanopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea; Kyung Hee East-West Pharmaceutical Research Institute, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: ypjang@khu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Young Pyo
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Jang
keywords: Cubeb berries; DART-MS; Litsea cubeba; Piper cubeba; Principal component analysis