Identification of Chromones in the Seeds Extract of Saposhnikovia divaricata by Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

The present work describes a liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) method for rapid identification of four chromones, prim-O-glucosylcimifugin, 4’-O- β-D-glucosyl-5-O-methylvisamminol, cimifugin and 5-O-methylvisamminol in the seeds extract from Saposhnikovia divaricata for the first time. By using a binary mobile phase system consisting of 0.5 % acetic acid and acetonitrile under gradient conditions, a good separation was achieved in 25 min. The [M+H] + ions, the [2M+Na] + ions, the molecular weights, and the fragment ions of the four chromones were obtained in the positive ion mode using LC-ESI-MS. The identification of the chromones (peaks 1-4) in seeds extract of S. divaricata was based on matching their retention times, the detection of molecular ions, and the fragment ions obtained by LC-ESI-MS experiments with those of the authentic standards and data reported in the literature.