Characterization of the multiple chemical components of Glechomae Herba using ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole-time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry with diagnostic ion filtering strategy.

Glechomae Herba is a traditional Chinese medicine used for the treatment of urolithiasis, cholelithiasis, and urinary tract infections in China. Identification of chemical constituents is helpful to discover the potential active ingredients. However, this significant work is stymied by complex chemical constituents. Therefore, an ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole-time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry analysis with diagnostic product ions and neutral loss filtering strategy was established for chemical profiling of Glechomae Herba. The diagnostic product ions and neutral loss filtering strategy simplified spectral elucidation. A total of 120 compounds, including 10 chlorogenic acids, 10 gallic acids, 21 phenylpropionic acids, and 77 flavonoids, were reasonably identified in Glechomae Herba. Sixty-five constituents were first discovered in Glechomae Herba. Four types of chlorogenic acids (caffeoylquinic acid, feruloylquinic acid, p-coumaroylquinic acid, and di-caffeoylquinic acid), three types of galloylglucoses (di-O-galloyl-glucose, tri-O-galloyl-glucose, and tetra-O-galloyl-glucose), three types of phenylpropionic acid skeletons (p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, and rosmarinic acid) and five types of flavonoid aglycone skeletons (apigenin, kaempferol, luteolin, quercetin, and chrysin) were identified in Glechomae Herba. The results indicated that the developed strategy was feasible and rational technique for identifying the complex chemical constituents in Glechomae Herba.