Characterization of the Chemical Constituents in Modified Xihuang Pills by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS

Modified Xihuang Pills (MXP), a widely used traditional Chinese patent medicine in China, has been clinically applied for treating inflammatory and infectious diseases. However, there are only a few reports on its chemical components at present, which hinders its further research, development, and application. In this study, an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS) method was developed firstly to investigate the major components in MXP. A total of 105 compounds were identified or characterized, among which 12 compounds were clearly confirmed by comparing the retention time and mass spectrometry data with those of reference standards. Based on the retention time, mass spectrometry data, and relevant literature information, the remaining 93 compounds were preliminarily characterized. Results showed that bile acids, bufadienolides, and terpenoids were the primary chemical components of MXP. The established analytical method has been proven to effectively characterize the chemical constituents of MXP and also provides an important reference for further in vivo pharmacokinetics and drug metabolism research on MXP.