ABSTRACT Eurpatorii Herba (EH), a commonly used herbal medicine, has been employed to eliminate dampness and relieve summerheat. This study aimed to fully profile chemical constituents and identify origin‐specific markers for the comprehensive quality evaluation of EH by integrating multiple chromatographic methods combined with a chemometrics strategy. Multiple chromatographic methods, including ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole tandem time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐QTOF‐MS/MS), ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography triple quadrupole linear ion trap tandem mass spectrometry/tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐QTRAP‐MS/MS), and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS), were employed for qualitative identification and quantitative determination on the chemical profile of EH. Chemometric strategies were integrated to conduct a systematic comparative analysis of the profile differences of EH from different origins. A total of 61 non‐volatile constituents and 78 volatile constituents, including flavonoids, organic acids, terpenoids, and aromatic compounds, were identified. In addition, twenty potential chemical markers were accurately quantified to further investigate the origin‐dependent chemical variation of EH. Chemometric analysis demonstrated significant differences in the content of these chemical constituents depending on geographical origin. Then, nine components: protocatechuic acid, rutin, narcissoside, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, o ‐acetyl‐ p ‐cresol, thymol, nerol, and nerylacetate were identified as the key chemical markers with maximal origin‐discriminatory power. This study presents a new and thorough approach for the evidence of region‐specific chemical marks in EH, laying a reliable foundation and guidance for the holistic quality evaluation of EH.
Zhang et al. (Sun,) studied this question.