Characterization of phenolic compounds in the crude extract of Hedysarum multijugum by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

The fragmentation behavior of four types of phenolic compounds: coumestans, pterocarpenes, benzofurans and isoflavones, were studied using electrospray ionization multistage mass spectrometry (ESI-MS(n)) (n = 2-5) in negative ion mode. Losses of methyl (15 Da), CO (28 Da), CO(2) (44 Da), isopropyl (43 Da) and isobutenyl (55 Da) were dominating fragmentation patterns. Different positions and numbers of the substituents also led to the different fragmentation behavior. These fragmentation rules were applied for the identification of constituents in methanolic extracts of Hedysarum multijugum, in which 29 compounds were characterized, including nine new compounds. The method established in this study could be applied to the comprehensive quality control of the herb and its formulations. It could also be applied to the biological and pharmacological research of traditional Chinese medicines. Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.