Sensitive characterization of polyphenolic antioxidants in Polygonatum odoratum by selective solid phase extraction and high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry.

The complexity of natural products always leads to the co-elution of interfering compounds with bioactive compounds, which then has a detrimental effect on structural elucidation. Here, a new method, based on selective solid phase extraction combined with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) spiking and high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS/MS), is described for sensitive screening, selective extraction and identification of polyphenolic antioxidants in Polygonatum odoratum. First, 25 polyphenolic antioxidants (1-25) were screened by DPPH spiking with HPLC. Second, polydopamine coated Fe3O4 microspheres (Fe3O4@PDA) were prepared to selectively extract target antioxidants with extraction efficiency from 55% to 100% when the amount of Fe3O4@PDA, extraction time, desorption solvent and time were 10mg, 20 min, acetonitrile, and 5 min. Third, 25 antioxidants (10 cinnamides and 15 homoisoflavanones) were identified by HPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS/MS. Furthermore, the DPPH scavenging activities of purified compounds (IC50, 1.6-32.8 μg/mL) validated the method. Among the identified antioxidants, four of them (12, 13, 18 and 19) were new compounds, four of them (2, 4, 8 and 14) were first obtained from family Liliaceae, five of them (1, 3, 5, 7 and 9) were first reported in genus Polygonatum, while one compound (24) was first identified in this species. The results indicated that the proposed method was an efficient and sensitive approach to explore polyphenolic antioxidants from complex natural products.

Hu X ，Zhao H ，Shi S ，Li H ，Zhou X ，Jiao F ，Jiang X ，Peng D ，Chen X ... -  《-》

Screening and characterization of natural antioxidants in four Glycyrrhiza species by liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry.

Licorice, derived from the dried roots and rhizomes of several species of genus Glycyrrhiza L. (Leguminosae family), has been traditionally used in herbal medicine for over 4000 years. In recent years, the interest in antioxidative constituents in licorice has greatly increased. In this work, a new method based on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) spiking test combined with HPLC coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (Q-TOF MS/MS) analysis was developed to screen and identify the antioxidants in licorice. The results of the method validation indicated that the developed method was reliable and repeatable. Compared with DPPH on-line method, the HPLC-Q-TOF MS/MS method combined with DPPH spiking test offered much higher sensitivity and resolution. Using this method, 35 radical scavengers were screened from four Glycyrrhiza species (G. inflata, G. glabra, G. pallidiflora and G. uralensis), and 21 of them were unambiguously or tentatively identified by HPLC-Q-TOF MS/MS. Among the 21 identified flavonoids, 10 compounds had been reported to possess antioxidative activities in the previous studies, and the radical scavenging activities of the other 11 compounds were reported for the first time. The effects of six purified flavonoids on DPPH radical and lipid peroxidation were evaluated for validation of the developed method. The results indicated that HPLC-Q-TOF MS/MS coupled with DPPH treatment is an efficient and powerful method to discover the potential antioxidative compounds from the complex natural product mixtures. In this study, the identified components with free radical scavenging activity, would help to explain the therapeutic benefit of licorice in the treatment of human disease associated with oxidative stress.

Li YJ ，Chen J ，Li Y ，Li Q ，Zheng YF ，Fu Y ，Li P ... -  《-》

Analysis and improved characterization of minor antioxidants from leaves of Malus doumeri using a combination of major constituents' knockout with high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectromet

Due to the complexity of natural products, efficient identification of bioactive compounds, especially for minor compounds, would require a huge effort. Here, we developed an effective strategy based on combining major constituents' knockout with high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS/MS) to comprehensively identify minor antioxidants in Malus doumeri, one of the longest known and most used tonic plant in Taiwan. First, five major compounds (I-V) in M. doumeri were knocked out by two-step stepwise high-speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC). Second, minor antioxidants were screened by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical-HPLC (DPPH-HPLC) assay. Third, structures of thirty minor antioxidants, including 11 dihydrochalcones, 4 flavanones, 3 flavonols, 2 flavones, 3 aurones and 7 phenolic acids, were unambiguously or tentatively identified by matching their characteristic UV spectra, accurate mass signals and key diagnostic fragment ions with standards or previously reported compounds. Twenty-six of them, as far as was known, were discovered from M. doumeri for the first time. The results indicated that the proposed method was a useful approach to explore minor bioactive compounds from complex natural products.

Zhao H ，Hu X ，Chen X ，Shi S ，Jiang X ，Liang X ，Chen W ，Zhang S ... -  《-》

Indirect identification of antioxidants in Polygalae Radix through their reaction with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and subsequent HPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS.

A rapid and efficient method for the identification of antioxidants in the traditional Chinese medicine Polygalae Radix (PR) by HPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS is described. The method is based on the hypothesis that upon reaction of antioxidants with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), the peak areas of compounds with potential antioxidant activities in the HPLC chromatogram will be significantly reduced in comparison to the untreated sample. The identity confirmation was achieved by Q-TOF-MS/MS technique. With this method, eight components were proposed possessing potent antioxidant activity. They were identified as sibiricose A5, sibiricose A6, sucrose monoester, polygalaxanthone III, tenuifoliside B, 3',6-disinapoylsucrose (DISS), sucrose diester, tenuifoliside C, respectively. DISS was proposed to be the most potent one. The antioxidant activity of DISS was evaluated by DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging assay and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay in vitro. Vitamin C (Vc) was used as positive control substance. DISS showed moderate DPPH (DISS's IC50 value was 1024.17 μg/mL, Vc's was 294.68 μg/mL) and ABTS (IC50 324.13 μg/mL, Vc's was 117.50 μg/mL) free radical scavenging capacity and ferric-reducing antioxidant power. DISS can be used as a new source of natural antioxidant in foods and cosmetics.

Shi Q ，Chen J ，Zhou Q ，Lei H ，Luan L ，Liu X ，Wu Y ... -  《-》

Separation and purification of α-glucosidase inhibitors from Polygonatum odoratum by stepwise high-speed counter-current chromatography combined with Sephadex LH-20 chromatography target-guided by ultrafiltration-HPLC screening.

Although Polygonatum odoratum has been widely used as medicinal plant and food supplement for treating diabetes, little is known regarding its bioactive components. In this study, ultrafiltration-HPLC based ligand screening was developed to screen α-glucosidase inhibitors from P. odoratum for the first time. Then bioactive components were target-guided separated by combining stepwise high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) using petroleum ether-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (1:4:0.8:4.2, v/v/v/v), (1:4:1.8:3.2, v/v/v/v) and (1:4:2.3:2.7, v/v/v/v) as solvent systems with Sephadex LH-20 chromatography eluted by MeCN-MeOH (1:1, v/v). Five phenethyl cinnamides, N-cis-feruloyloctopamine (1); N-trans-p-coumaroyloctopamine (2), N-trans-feruloyloctopamine (3), N-trans-p-coumaroyltyramine (4) and N-trans-feruloyltyramine (5), and four homoisoflavanones, (3R)-5,7-dihydroxyl-3-(2',4'-dihydroxylbenzyl)-chroman-4-one (6), (3R)-5,7-dihydroxyl-6-methyl-3-(4'-hydroxylbenzyl)-chroman-4-one (7), (3R)-5,7-dihydroxyl-6-methyl-8-methoxyl-3-(4'-hydroxylbenzyl)-chroman-4-one (8); and (3R)-5,7-dihydroxyl-6,8-dimethyl-3-(4'-hydroxylbenzyl)-chroman-4-one) (9), with purity over 98.5% were purified, and their structures were identified by UV, MS, and (1)H NMR. Notably, compounds 2 and 4 were first reported in genus Polygonatum, while compound 1 was first obtained from family Liliaceae. In addition, α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of compounds 1-9 were evaluated, and compounds 2 and 4 exhibited stronger α-glucosidase inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 2.3 and 2.7μM. The results suggested the potential medicinal use of P. odoratum, and the technology could be widely applied for rapid screening and preparative separation of a group of bioactive compounds from complex matrix.

Zhou X ，Liang J ，Zhang Y ，Zhao H ，Guo Y ，Shi S ... -  《-》