Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026
Applications of Liquid-Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry in Natural Products Research: Tropane Alkaloids as a Case Study
Published on: March 8, 2024
Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based automated annotation program-assisted structural characterization of
Kouharu Otsuki1, Mi Zhang2, Kakeru Hirose2
1Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, Miyama 2-2-1, Funabashi, Chiba, 274-8510, Japan. kouharu.otsuki@phar.toho-u.ac.jp.
Abstract:
Daphne genkwa is a deciduous shrub distributed throughout East Asia and has long been used in traditional medicine. Previous phytochemical investigations have shown that D. genkwa is a rich source of bioactive daphnane diterpenoids. In the present study, a comprehensive structural characterization of daphnane diterpenoids in the flowers of D. genkwa was carried out using an LC-MS/MS-based approach. This approach integrated automated annotation program, manual inspection of MS/MS fragmentation pathways, and phytochemical investigation. It led to the structural characterization of 37 daphnane diterpenoids, including nine previously undescribed compounds. These findings demonstrated that D. genkwa flowers contain structurally diverse daphnane diterpenoids, mainly daphnane orthoesters and polyhydroxy daphnanes. Moreover, the diagnostic MS/MS fragmentation and retention time features established in this study provide reliable LC-MS/MS-based criteria for discriminating closely related structural isomers of polyhydroxy daphnanes that differ in their B-ring structures and acylation patterns.
