Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry for the Simultaneous Quantification of Eleven Phytochemical Constituents in Traditional Korean Medicine, Sogunjung Decoction

The Sogunjung decoction (SGJD) is a traditional herbal formula that has been used to treat constipation and improve the constitution of infirm children in Korea. In this study, simultaneous quantification of gallic acid (1), magnoflorine (2), albiflorin (3), paeoniflorin (4), liquiritin apioside (5), liquiritin (6), liquiritigenin (7), coumarin (8), cinnamaldehyde (9), benzoylpaeoniflorin (10), and glycyrrhizin (11) was conducted using fast and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS) multiple-reaction monitoring to develop a quality-control protocol for the SGJD. A Waters Acquity UPLC BEH C-18 column (2.1 x 100 mm, 1.7 mu m) was used for the chromatographic separation of the 11 marker compounds in the SGJD using two mobile phases (5 mM ammonium acetate in distilled water containing 0.1% (v/v) formic acid, and acetonitrile). The MS parameters for a simultaneous analysis were capillary voltage (3.0 kV), source temperature (150 degrees C), desolvation temperature (500 degrees C), desolvation gas flow (700 L/h), and cone gas flow (50 L/h). The developed LC-MS method was validated by the evaluation of linearity, limits of detection, limits of quantification, recovery and precision. By using the developed and validated assay, the 11 marker components in the SGJD were detected in amounts of 0.01-51.83 mg/g.

Automated summary

In this study, a traditional herbal formula called Sogunjung decoction was quantified using LC-MS, and a quality-control protocol was developed for it. The validated method detected 11 marker components in the decoction, with amounts ranging from 0.01 to 51.83 mg/g.