Component analysis using UPLC-Q-TOF/MS and quality evaluation using fingerprinting and chemometrics for hops

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Pharmacognosy

Background:

• Chinese hops are vital for food and medicine but lack defined quality markers.
• Variations in hop quality necessitate robust analytical methods for assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore variations in Chinese hop quality using chemical profiling.
• To establish reliable chemical markers for differentiating hop varieties.
• To develop a framework for future hop quality control.

Main Methods:

• Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) was employed.
• Chemical fingerprinting and chemometric analysis were integrated.
• Support Vector Machine (SVM) was used for variety identification.

Main Results:

• Chinese hops are rich in polyphenols and bitter acids.
• Ten key chemical markers were identified for differentiating hop varieties.
• The integrated approach achieved high accuracy in classifying hop varieties.

Conclusions:

• UPLC-Q-TOF/MS combined with chemometrics is effective for Chinese hop quality assessment.
• The identified chemical markers and methods can classify hop varieties.
• This study provides a foundation for standardized quality control of Chinese hops.