Selecting marker substances of main producing area of Codonopsis lanceolata in Korea using UPLC-QTOF-MS analysis

Codonopsis lanceolata (Deoduk) was grown in East Asia, including Korea, China, Japan, and Russia, and the roots of C. lanceolata have been used as functional foods and traditional medicine to treat symptoms of cough, bronchitis, asthma, tuberculosis, and dyspepsia. The phytochemicals of C. lanceolata have been reported such as phenylpropanoids, polyacetylenes, saponins, and flavonoids that are involved in pharmacological effects such as anti-obesity, anti-inflammation, anti-tumor, antioxidant, and anti-microbial activities. Selecting marker substances of the main producing area by MS-based metabolomics analysis is important to ensure the beneficial effect of C. lanceolata without side-effects because differences in cultivated areas of plants were related not only to the safety of medicinal plants but also to changes in chemical composition and biological efficacy. In our present study, ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry combined with multivariate statistical analysis was applied to recognize the main producing area of C. lanceolata in South Korea. As a result of Principal Component Analysis and loading plot analysis of three groups, Inje (Kangwon-do), Hoengseong (Kangwon-do), and Muju (Jeonlabuk-do), several secondary metabolites of C. lanceolata including tangshenoside I, lancemaside A, and lancemaside G, were suggested as potential marker substances to distinguish the place of main producing area of C. lanceolata.