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GuiLingJi (GLJ), a classic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula, is composed of over 20 herbs, according to the Pharmacopeia of the People's Republic of China. Owing to its various activities, GLJ has been used in clinical settings for more than 400 years in China. However, the ambiguous chemical material basis limits the development of studies on the quality control and pharmacological mechanisms of GLJ. Therefore, comprehensive characterization of the multiple chemical components of GLJ is of great significance for the modernization of this formula. Given the great variety of herbs in GLJ, both ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) techniques were employed in this study. In addition, solvent extraction with different polarities was used to eliminate signal interference and the concentration of trace components. A variety of MS analytic methods were also used, including implementation of a self-built compound database, diagnostic ion filtering, mass defect filtering, and application of Compound Discoverer 3.0 (CD) analysis software. Based on the above strategies, a total of 150 compounds were identified, including 5 amino acids, 13 phenolic acids and glycosides, 11 coumarins, 72 flavones, 20 triterpenoid and triterpenoid saponins, 23 fatty acids, and 6 other compounds. Moreover, 13 compounds were identified by 1H NMR spectroscopy. The UHPLC-MS and 1H NMR results supported and complemented each other. This strategy provides a rapid approach to analyze and identify the chemical composition of Chinese herbal prescriptions. The current study provides basis for further research on the quality control and pharmacological mechanism of GLJ.
Shi et al. (Mon,) studied this question.