Abstract:

This study aimed to devise a methodology for the simultaneous determination of the contents of nine primary components in Lonicerae japonicae flos through ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The chemometric analysis of the nine primary components was performed via negative ion scanning. Further, chromatographic separation was performed on a Thermo Hypersil GOLD column at a temperature of 35 ℃. The mobile phase comprised methanol and water containing 0.2% formic acid, as determined through the cluster thermogram and principal component analyses of Lonicerae japonicae flos. The peak areas with concentrations of nine components exhibited a good linear relationship (R²>0.999 1), and the intraday (0.96%~2.26%) and interday (0.52%~3.04%) precisions and stability values (0.85%~2.15%) agreed well with relative standard deviation (RSD). The recovery rate was between 96.77% and 101.94%, and the RSD was between 2.48% and 4.01%. The results of the chemometric, hierarchical cluster, and principal component analyses revealed that there were considerable differences in the contents of the active ingredients of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos from various regions, and 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid and 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid were considered as the dominant compounds. UPLC-MS/MS quantitative and chemometric analyses of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos performed herein may provide a reference for the modernization of and innovative research on the effective ingredients of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos and related quantity effect relations as well as the quality control of related products.

Key words: Lonicerae japonicae flos, UPLC-MS/MS, chemometrics, multicomponent, assay