OBJECTIVE To qualitatively analyze the chemical components of Gualou Xiebai Banxia Decoction and quantitatively determine the contents of 9 components.

METHODS The chemical composition of Gualou Xiebai Banxia Decoction was analyzed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-electrostatic field orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS), and the compounds were structurally identified using the traditional Chinese medicine standard database LuMet-TCM and Herb database. A high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(HPLC-MS/MS) was established to simultaneously determine the contents of diosmetin, timosaponin BⅡ, succinic acid, nicotinamide, trigonelline, adenosine, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, guanosine and β-D-galactopyranoside content in this decoction. Instrumental precision, repeatability, stability, linear relationship, and sample recovery were investigated.

RESULTS A total of 256 components were identified in the decoction, including amino acids and polypeptides, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, alkaloids and other compounds. At the same time, 9 components in Gualou Xiebai Banxia Decoction were quantified, among which the contents of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, succinic acid, adenosine and β-D-galactopyranoside were higher, which were 540.13, 521.98, 25.87 and 23.40 μg·mL⁻¹, respectively.

CONCLUSION This study provides reference for the screening and quality control of pharmacodynamic substances of Gualou Xiebai Banxia Decoction.