OBJECTIVE To establish a feature-based molecular networking(FBMN) for systematic analysis and identification of the chemical components of Albiziae Cortex by ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight tandem mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) technology.

METHODS Agilent ZORBAX Eclipse Plus C₁₈(3.0 mm×100 mm, 1.8 μm) column was used with acetonitrile-0.1% formic acid water as the mobile phase for gradient elution. The MS/MS data of Albiziae Cortex and reference substances were collected under the electrospray ion source(ESI) in positive and negative ion modes. The Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking(GNPS) was created based on the similarity of the MS/MS ion fragments of each component, and the post-visualization FBMN was used to quickly identify the chemical components of the alcohol extract of Albiziae Cortex according to the precise relative molecular mass of the compounds, characteristic fragment ions, reference substances and database matching results.

RESULTS A total of 60 chemical components were identified from the bark of Albiziae Cortex, including 23 fatty acids, 12 lignans, 7 alkaloids, 3 glycosides, and 15 others. This study identified 46 chemical constituents from Albiziae Cortex for the first time. Among these, 9S-hydroxy-10E,12Z,15Z-octadecatrienoic acid, pinellic acid, and a pair of isomers were putatively identified via FBMN-based analysis. The fragmentation rules of the main components of fatty acids and lignan compounds, as well as the correlation of network nodes, were further explored.

CONCLUSION UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS combined with FBMN allows rapid and comprehensive identification of chemical constituents and isomers in Albiziae Cortex, providing a basis for studying its pharmacodynamic material basis and quality control.