Simultaneous Quantification of Six Major Flavonoids From Fructus sophorae by LC-ESI-MS/MS and Statistical Analysis

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Pharmacognosy
• Chemotaxonomy

Background:

• Fructus sophorae contains numerous bioactive flavonoids with therapeutic potential.
• Standardization and quality control of Fructus sophorae are crucial due to variations in active compound content.
• Accurate and simultaneous quantification of multiple flavonoids is essential for its effective utilization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a sensitive and selective HPLC-MS/MS method for determining six major flavonoids in Fructus sophorae.
• To apply chemometric techniques for sample classification and differentiation based on flavonoid profiles.
• To establish a comprehensive quality control strategy for Fructus sophorae.

Main Methods:

• High-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) with negative mode multiple-reaction monitoring.
• Separation on a C18 column using a methanol/acetic acid gradient elution.
• Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Clustering Analysis (HCA) for chemometric analysis.

Main Results:

• A rapid (8.0 min run time) and validated HPLC-MS/MS method was established for simultaneous quantification of sophoricoside, genistin, genistein, rutin, quercetin, and kaempferol.
• Significant quantitative differences in the six active compounds were observed among Fructus sophorae samples from different sources.
• PCA and HCA effectively classified and differentiated the samples based on their flavonoid content.

Conclusions:

• The developed HPLC-MS/MS method provides a reliable and efficient tool for the simultaneous determination of key flavonoids in Fructus sophorae.
• Flavonoid profiling combined with chemometric analysis is a valuable strategy for the chemotaxonomy and quality standardization of Fructus sophorae.
• This integrated approach offers a robust method for comprehensive quality control of Fructus sophorae.