An Integrated Analytical Approach of Chemical Composition in Flos Trollii from Different Regions Based on UHPLC-HRMS and GC-MS Combined with Chemometrics to Trace Geographical Origins

Abstract

Flos Trollii (FT) was used for food resources and a folk medicine in China. It has long been used to prevent and treat tonsillitis and pharyngitis. Flos Trollii possessed antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory activities. The aim of this study is to trace the origin of Flos Trollii chinensis, identify certain components related to environmental factors, and prepare for further research on the activity and standard of Flos Trollii.

Materials and methods: An integrative strategy applying the information from diverse datasets simultaneously make the analysis more credible. A combination of UHPLC-HRMS and Simultaneous distillation extraction (SDE) methods coupled with GC-MS were strategically applied to comprehensively analyze the chemical constituents of Flos Trollii from different habitats in this study.

Results: A variety of chemical components of Flos Trollii, including flavonoids, alcohols, phenols, esters and so on were identified. Partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) model was established to screen the characteristic components. SPSS was used to perform stepwise regression analysis on the screened differential compounds and some environmental factors. Some components were linear with the environmental factors. The results showed that the combination of UHPLC-HRMS and GC-MS was an effective strategy for origin traceability.

Conclusion: UPLC-MS and GC-MS can provide a comprehensive analysis of traditional Chinese medicine and provide a basis for traceability of its origin, such as FT. And some components related to environmental.

Keywords: Flos Trollii, UHPLC-HRMS, GC-MS, geographical origins