Characterization and Identification of Major Constituents in Baihe Zhimu Decoction by HPLC-MSn

Abstract

Baihe Zhimu decoction is a widely used traditional Chinese medicine recipe which has been proved effective in treating multitudinous diseases. In this paper, by comparing the retention times and MSⁿ data with those obtained from reference substance and the published data, a total of 39 constituents including xanthones, phenolic glycosides and saponins were detected in Baihe Zhimu decoction. Therefore, this simple and specific HPLC-MSⁿ method has been developed and applied for the primary investigation of the chemical constituents of this recipe. Besides, the data obtained in this study may be helpful for further pharmacokinetic and metabolic studies of Baihe Zhimu decoction.