title: Determination and Identification of a Specific Marker Compound for Discriminating Shrub Chaste Tree Fruit from Agnus Castus Fruit Based on LC/MS Metabolic Analysis.
abstract: Shrub Chaste Tree Fruit (SCTF) is defined as the fruits of Vitex rotundifolia L. f. and V. trifolia L. and has been used as a component of some traditional Japanese medicines (Kampo formulations). Agnus Castus Fruit (ACF) is defined as the dried ripe fruits of V. agnus-castus L.; it is used in traditional European medicines, but is becoming popular in Japan as both an over-the-counter drug and as an ingredient in health foods for treating premenstrual syndrome (PMS). To ensure the efficacy and safety of both SCTF and ACF products, it is important to precisely authenticate their botanical origins and to clearly distinguish between SCTF and ACF. Therefore, we tried to identify SCTF-specific marker compounds based on LC/MS metabolic analysis. The multivariate analysis of LC/MS data from SCTF and ACF samples furnished candidate marker compounds of SCTF. An SCTF-specific marker was isolated from SCTF crude drugs and identified as 3-O-trans-feruloyl tormentic acid on the basis of spectroscopic data from NMR and MS. Since avoiding contamination from closely related species is a significant requirement for pharmaceuticals of natural origin, this information will be valuable for the quality control of both SCTF and ACF products from the viewpoint of regulatory science.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, International University of Health and Welfare.
authors.forename: Tadahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yahagi
authors.forename: Sayaka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Masada
authors.forename: Naohiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Oshima
authors.forename: Ryuta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsufuji
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Shoji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yahara
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Iida
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kawahara
authors.forename: Takuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maruyama
authors.forename: Yukihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Goda
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hakamatsuka
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D013045:Species Specificity; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*; D020950:Vitex / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers