[Rapid characterization of chemical constituents in capillary wormwood extract based on UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap]

A rapid and sensitive UHPLC-HR-MSn method was developed for the identification of chemical constituents in capillary wormwood extract. ACQUITY UHPLC HSS T3 chromatography column (2.1 mm×100 mm, 1.7 μm) was used with 0.1% formic acid-acetonitrile solution as the mobile phase in gradient elution. The extract was detected by ESI-LTQ-Orbitrap equipped with an ESI ion source in a negative mode. Based on the accurate mass measurements, retention time, mass fragmentation patterns and literature reports, a total of 50 compounds including 21 flavonoids, 22 phenolic acids, 6 coumarins and 1 other compound were tentatively screened and characterized. These results are helpful for the comprehensive quality control, better comprehension of the metabolism and further study of pharmacodynamic substance from capillary wormwood extract.