The qualitative and quantitative analyses of Gelsemium elegans

Area of Science:

• Pharmacognosy
• Analytical Chemistry
• Traditional Chinese Medicine

Background:

• Gelsemium elegans is a traditional Chinese medicine with alkaloids as key active and toxic components.
• Its use for various ailments necessitates quality assessment based on chemical constituents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively assess G. elegans quality by analyzing alkaloid profiles from different plant parts and origins.
• To develop and validate analytical methods for chemical marker identification and quantification.

Main Methods:

• Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with photo-diode array and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-PDA-QTOF/MS) for alkaloid identification.
• Principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS/PLS-DA) for marker selection.
• High-performance liquid chromatography with UV detector (HPLC-UV) for quantitative analysis of major alkaloids.

Main Results:

• 38 alkaloids were identified or tentatively identified in G. elegans.
• 24 chemical markers were selected to differentiate plant parts, showing distinct alkaloid distributions.
• Roots generally contained higher alkaloid content than stems and leaves; alkaloid content varied significantly across samples, with less fluctuation in stems.

Conclusions:

• Integrated chemical profiling and quantitative analysis provide a robust method for assessing G. elegans quality.
• Understanding alkaloid variations is fundamental for the standardization and application of G. elegans in traditional medicine.