Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-orbitrap-tandem mass spectrometry identifies 24 “unexpected” compounds to construct a one-for-one anti -counterfeiting quality markers system of Lianhua Qingwen capsule

The study completed the quantification of 110 compounds from Lianhua Qingwen ( LHQW ) capsule using library-aided ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-orbitrap-tandem mass spectrometry under three adducting models ([M − H] - , [M + HCOO] - , and [M + H] + ). Especially, 22 groups of isomers (e.g., forsythoside I vs. acteoside vs. forsythoside A) were clearly recognized and 24 “unexpected” compounds were found out for the first time in the capsule. Thereafter, 11 compounds were recommended to construct a new one-for-one anti- counterfeiting quality markers system. Further validated experiment using lower version LC-MS analysis suggested that this system could successfully recognize 11 counterfeiting LHQW capsules.