Discrimination and quality evaluation of fifteen components in Stauntonia hexaphylla leaves from different harvest time by HPLC–PDA–ESI–MS/MS and ELSD coupled with multivariate statistical analysis and anti-inflammatory activity evaluation

The leaves of Stauntonia hexaphylla (SHL) are a very popular herbal medicine in Korea because it can be used to treat rheumatic osteoporosis and other diseases. However, owing to the inconsistency in harvesting time and growth years, their quality is uneven, which indirectly negatively affects the safety of this medication. Therefore, the difference of constituents in SHL harvested at different seasons and years were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to photodiode-array and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry detectors (HPLC–PDA–ESI/MS). A total of 15 components were tentatively characterized in samples of SHL, including 5 compounds reported for the first time in this plant. Moreover, the relative content of these constitutions was simultaneously determined by HPLC coupled with evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD). Hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the quality has a certain extent difference in different harvest times, the best harvest time was 3 years old growing in autumn. The same harvest time was also suggested based on the anti-inflammatory evaluation.