Simultaneous Determination of Eleven Compounds in the Chinese Herbal Medicine Flemingia prostrata by LC-MS

Objectives Flemingia prostrata is an important component of Chinese herbal medicine, renowned for its diverse therapeutic applications attributed to its abundant bioactive compounds. Accurate quantification of the bioactive compounds in this plant is crucial for ingredient quality control and pharmacological studies. Methods An LC-MS assay method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification based on external calibration of eleven bioactive compounds in F . prostrata . The target analytes comprised five isoflavones, three dihydroflavones, and three other characteristic constituents, including aureol, syringaresinol and 4′-O-methylgallocatechin. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a reversed-phase C18 column with gradient elution, followed by mass spectrometric detection under optimized parameters. Results The method was fully validated in terms of linearity, limits of detection, precision, accuracy, and recovery. All eleven compounds exhibited good linearity within their respective concentration ranges, with satisfactory intra- and inter-day precision and acceptable recoveries. The established LC-MS assay was successfully applied to the quantitative analysis of F. prostrata samples collected from six different geographical origins. Significant variations in the contents of individual compounds were observed among samples, indicating that geographical origin has a substantial influence on the chemical composition of F. prostrata . Conclusion The results demonstrate that the proposed method is suitable for comprehensive quality evaluation and comparative analysis of F. prostrata , providing a robust analytical tool for its standardization, quality control, and further pharmacological investigation.