HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS Analysis of Artemisia cina Leaves Aqueous Extract and Flavonoid Isolation Using High-speed Countercurrent Chromatography

Artemisia cina Berg ex Poljakov, a shrubby plant endemic to the semi-arid areas of Kazakhstan, has as a long history of being used in traditional medicines as an antitumour, antifungal and anthelmintic agent. In a preliminary study carried out on different methodologies to produce aqueous extracts of A. cina it was seen that a simple aqueous extract of A. cina (as in an infusion of the plant) had the strongest anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. The profiling of this aqueous extract was performed using Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Ionization-Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (LC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS) while High-Speed Countercurrent Chromatography (HSCCC) and a Sephadex LH-20 column were utilised to isolate and purify the extract in ethyl acetate obtained from the aqueous extract. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) was used for structural elucidation. The flavonoid spinacetin-7-O-glucoside was found to be one of the main compounds present in the A. cina aqueous extract. With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the frequency in which new COVID strains occur, the demand for drugs with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity is at an all-time high. Flavonoids and artemisinin identified by LC-MS in this extract are hypothesised to be the key compounds behind the anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of the aqueous extract, however this needs to be further tested and explored.