Rapid characterization of compounds in fupo ganmao granules by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract Fupo Ganmao Granules (FP) is a classic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula, composed of 4 herbal medicines, Folium Hibisci Mutabilis, Magnolia officinalis, Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae, and Fructus arctii. It is regularly used in the treatment of common cold with wind-heat syndrome. The biologically active constituents in FP, especially those in trace amount, remain unclear. In this study, the components of FP were profiled and characterized using HPLC-ESI-MS2. A total of 58 compounds were identified according to their fragmentation features in IT-TOF-MS and IT-MS2, including 13 phenolic acids, 17 flavonoids, 21 lignans, 2 alkaloids, and 5 other compounds. Among them, the identities of 8 compounds were explicitly confirmed by comparing them with standard compounds, and their contents were determined. Our study provided a comprehensive understanding of the diverse chemical profile in FP, and the approach we developed is useful for the analysis of other TCM formulas.