OBJECTIVE To systematically identify diarylheptanoids and investigate their mass spectrometric fragmentation rules in Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum and its adulterants(the dried rhizome slices of Curcuma kwangsiensis S.G.Lee et C.F.Liang and Curcuma phaeocaulis Val.), and to screen key quality markers via chemometric analysis and realize the differentiation between Rhizoma Wenyujin Concisum and its adulterants.

METHODS  Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF MS) was employed to identify diarylheptanoids in Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum and its common adulterants by comparing with reference standards, databases, and relevant literatures. The characteristic fragment and fragmentation pathways were summarized. Chemometric methods including cluster heatmap analysis, principal component analysis(PCA), and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA), were applied to screen quality markers.

RESULTS The characteristic fragmentation pathways of 9 diarylheptanoids were systematically summarized. A total of 76 diarylheptanoid compounds were identified from Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum and its common adulterants, including 65 compounds in Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum, 65 in the dried rhizome slices of C. kwangsiensis, and 23 in the dried rhizome slices of C. phaeocaulis. Chemometric analysis demonstrated that diarylheptanoids could be used to distinguish Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum from its common adulterants. Based on the variable importance in projection results of OPLS-DA, compounds such as curcumin and demethoxycurcumin were screened out as the key markers for the identification of Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum, the dried rhizome slices of C. kwangsiensis and the dried rhizome slices of C. phaeocaulis.

CONCLUSION This study systematically identifies the 9 types of diarylheptanoids and summarized their characteristic fragmentation pathways in Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum and its common adulterants. Chemometric methods are used to screen differential characteristic components. This work provides a reference for the research on material basis and quality control of Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum.