Differentiating leaf and whole-plant samples of di- and tetraploid Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino using flow-injection mass spectrometric fingerprinting method

Quality evaluation of Lycium barbarum (wolfberry) from different regions in China based on polysaccharide structure, yield and bioactivities

Background

Lycium barbarum (wolfberry) has been widely cultivated in China, particularly in northwest regions. However, the fruit size and taste of L. barbarum from different habitats are quite different. Traditionally, only the fruit of L. barbarum produced in Ningxia province is recorded as an authentic herb, although the detailed mechanism responsible for this remains obscure. Polysaccharides are considered major active ingredients in L. barbarum which is crucial for its quality evaluation.

Methods

In this study, we assessed the yield, monosaccharide composition, molecular weight, and conformation of L. barbarum polysaccharides (LBPs) collected from different regions of China. The antioxidant and immune activities of LBPs were also determined as its quality indicator.

Results

Our results showed that the similarity values of monosaccharide composition were larger than 0.926, and the Mw of the two fractions (peaks 1–2) in LBPs were ranging from 1.36 × 10⁶ to 2.01 × 10⁶ (peak 1), and 6.85 × 10⁴ to 10.30 × 10⁴ (peak 2) which indicated that the structure of LBPs were similar. In addition, results showed that there was no significant difference in antioxidant and immune activities of nine LBPs from different regions. However, the yield of LBPs from Qinghai Province (low atmospheric temperature, high altitude) was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than those collected from Xinjiang and Ningxia province.

Conclusions

These data suggested that the L. barbarum produced in Ningxia and Xinjiang maybe more suitable as materials for medicines and functional foods. This study also provides a reference for improving the quality control standard of LBPs.

Fingerprinting profile of polysaccharides from Lycium barbarum using multiplex approaches and chemometrics

Techniques including ultraviolet-visible spectra (UV), high performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and pre-column derivatization high-performance liquid chromatography (PCD-HPLC) were used in the fingerprinting analysis of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBPs) from different locations and varieties. Multiple fingerprinting profiles were used to evaluate the similarity and classification of different LBPs with the help of chemometrics. The results indicated that sixteen batches of LBPs had good consistency, and fingerprinting techniques were simple and robust for quality control of LBPs as well as related products. In addition, fingerprinting techniques combined with chemometrics could also be used to identify different cultivation locations of LBPs samples. Finally, four monosaccharides (galacturonic acid, glucose, galactose and arabinose) and the absorptions of stretching vibration of ester carbonyl groups as well as NH variable angle vibration of -CONH- could be selected as herbal markers to distinguish different samples.

A study of the geo-herbalism of evodiae fructus based on a flow-injection mass spectrometric fingerprinting method combined with chemometrics

A flow-injection mass spectrometric (FIMS) fingerprinting method in combination with principal component analysis (PCA) was used to study the geo-herbalism of Evodiae Fructus (EF) samples. Twenty four EF samples from different regions in China were collected and analyzed. The PCA scores plot showed that the samples from Guizhou Province were scattered in different groups, however, most of the samples from other provinces were basically scattered in the same group. Nine characteristic compounds responsible for the classification of the samples were tentatively characterized. These nine compounds might help differentiating EF samples from different regions.

Differentiation of Aurantii Fructus Immaturus from Poniciri Trifoliatae Fructus Immaturus using flow-injection mass spectrometric (FIMS) metabolic fingerprinting method combined with chemometrics

A flow-injection mass spectrometric metabolic fingerprinting method in combination with chemometrics was used to differentiate Aurantii Fructus Immaturus from its counterfeit Poniciri Trifoliatae Fructus Immaturus. Flow-injection mass spectrometric (FIMS) fingerprints of 9 Aurantii Fructus Immaturus samples and 12 Poniciri Trifoliatae Fructus Immaturus samples were acquired and analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) and soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA). The authentic herbs were differentiated from their counterfeits easily. Eight characteristic components which were responsible for the differences between the samples were tentatively identified. Furthermore, three out of the eight components, naringin, hesperidin, and neohesperidin, were quantified. The results are useful to help identify the authenticity of Aurantii Fructus Immaturus.

Partial least-squares-discriminant analysis differentiating Chinese wolfberries by UPLC-MS and flow injection mass spectrometric (FIMS) fingerprints

Lycium barbarum L. fruits (Chinese wolfberries) were differentiated for their cultivation locations and the cultivars by ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) and flow injection mass spectrometric (FIMS) fingerprinting techniques combined with chemometrics analyses. The partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was applied to the data projection and supervised learning with validation. The samples formed clusters in the projected data. The prediction accuracies by PLS-DA with bootstrapped Latin partition validation were greater than 90% for all models. The chemical profiles of Chinese wolfberries were also obtained. The differentiation techniques might be utilized for Chinese wolfberry authentication.