[Quality differences between periderm and root bark without periderm of Mori Cortex by HPLC fingerprint and...

An HPLC fingerprint and multi-component quantitative determination method for Mori Cortex was established, combined with chemical pattern recognition and correlation analysis, to evaluate the quality differences between the periderm and root bark without periderm. Eleven common peaks were identified in both the periderm and root bark without periderm, with similarity values ranging from 0.806-0.971 and 0.995-1.000, respectively. A method for determining six marker components was developed, showing that mulberroside A and oxyresveratrol were enriched in the root bark without periderm, whereas kuwanon G, kuwanon H, and morusin were enriched in the periderm. Chemical pattern recognition using principal component analysis(PCA), hierarchical cluster analysis(HCA), and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) classified Mori Cortex samples into two groups, i.e., periderm and root bark without periderm, and identified four significantly differential marker components, including kuwanon G, morusin, kuwanon H, and mulberroside A. Correlation analysis indicated that the content of mulberroside A in the root bark without periderm was highly significantly correlated with the contents of oxyresveratrol, morusin M, kuwanon G, kuwanon H, and morusin. In conclusion, the established HPLC fingerprint and multi-component determination method are simple, stable, and reliable, providing a basis for evaluating quality differences between the periderm and root bark without periderm of Mori Cortex.