Comparison of chemical constituents of Bupleurum marginatum var. stenophyllum and Bupleurum chinense DC. using UHPLC–Q‐TOF–MS based on a metabonomics approach

Abstract

The overall chemical composition of Bupleurum marginatum var. stenophyllum and Bupleurum chinense DC. was compared in this study. Metabolites were identified using ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry. Multivariate statistical analysis techniques such as principal component analysis were used to conduct metabonomics analysis and study the correlation between different components. Principal component analysis results showed a clear distinction among medicinal materials of different origins and divided them into different categories, consistent with the results of hierarchical cluster analysis. Both partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS‐DA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS‐DA) showed that the two materials could be distinguished clearly. Using PLS‐DA and OPLS‐DA combined with the S‐plot and a variable importance in the projection (VIP) score >1, 24 differential metabolites were screened and identified; all of the metabolites were triterpenoid saponins. In addition, SPSS 25.0 and Metabo Analyst 4.0 were used to analyze significant differences in the relative contents of different compounds in the two materials. This study has successfully provided not only a new direction for research based on the chemical substances identified and the quality evaluation of Bupleuri Radix but also a better theoretical basis for the expansion of medicinal sources and their clinical application.

Systematic Characterization and Identification of Saikosaponins in Extracts From Bupleurum marginatum var. stenophyllum Using UPLC-PDA-Q/TOF-MS

“…It is tedious to purify, separate, and identify them using conventional phytochemical separation methods, and the experimental period is long. In recent years, ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) has been widely used in many research fields due to its ability to obtain abundant sample information and efficient component separation, such as rapid identification of chemical components of TCM and drug quality control, speculated by aligning MS information and fragmentation patterns of target compounds with chemical standard substances or literature; the chemical components of TCM can be rapidly and accurately identified ( Guo et al, 2016 ; Qing et al, 2017 ; Münger et al, 2018 ; Yang et al, 2019 ; Ye et al, 2019 ; Xia et al, 2021 ). At present, there are still many saikosaponins with structural diversity present at low abundance that remain to be separated and identified by UPLC-MS.…”

Development of trisiloxane surfactant vesicles ultrasonic extraction method combined with ultrahigh‐performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry for the rapid differentiation of Bupleuri Radix based on metabolomics

“…Moreover, the extraction duration of TSVUE (19 min) was shorter than that of ultrasonic extraction (30 min) or heat reflux extraction (60 min). Hence, the traditional technology ultrasonic extraction and heat reflux extraction are time‐consuming, inefficient and environmentally unfriendly 23,24 …”

Phylogenetic relationship and comparative analysis of the main Bupleuri Radix species in China

“…stenophyllum contained higher content of saikosaponins A and D, and had a higher level of acute toxicity. Xia et al (2021) compared the overall chemical components of B. marginatum var. stenophyllum and B. chinense , and showed clear species-clustering.…”