Chemical Profile Analysis of Ling-Gui-Zhu-Gan Decoction by LC–QTOF MS and Simultaneous Determination of Nine Major Components Using QAMS Method

In this study, the chemical profile of Ling-Gui-Zhu-Gan Decoction (LGZGD) which was prepared by the method recorded in Synopsis of Golden Chamber was analyzed by LC–QTOF MS. A total of 89 compounds were identified, including flavonoids, pentacyclic triterpenes, glycosides, organic acids and others. Among them, nine major active components with high response value in chromatogram were selected for quantification, including liquiritin apioside, liquiritin, isoliquiritin apioside, isoliquiritin, coumarin, liquiritigenin, cinnamic acid, cinnamaldehyde and glycyrrhizic acid. A quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker (QAMS) was applied to simultaneous determination of nine major components in LGZGD. Using liquiritin as the internal reference, the relative correction factors (RCFs) were calculated to determine the contents of other eight compounds. A series of methodological study and robustness study were carried out, which proved that the RCFs between liquiritin and others were stable. In addition, compared with the results calculated by external standard method (EMS), there were no remarkable differences between these two methods with absolute relative errors less than 3.12%. The developed QAMS method was successfully applied to preparation process analysis. In conclusion, this QAMS method was convenient, accurate and feasible enough for evaluating the quality of LGZGD.