Chemical Fingerprint and Multicomponent Quantitative Analysis for the Quality Evaluation of Cyclocarya paliurus Leaves by HPLC–Q–TOF–MS

Cyclocarya paliurusis an edible and medicinal plant containing various bioactive components with significant health benefits. A combinative method using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprint and quantitative analysis was developed and successfully applied for characterization and quality evaluation ofC. paliurusleaves collected from 18 geographical locations of China. For the fingerprint analysis, 21 common peaks were observed among the 18 samples, and these peaks were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC–Q–TOF–MS), while a simultaneous quantification of 16 markers was conducted to interpret the variations of contents of these bioactive compounds among theC. paliurusleaves from different geographical locations. Quantification results showed that the contents of these sixteen investigated compounds varied greatly among the leaves from different locations. The developed new method would be a valuable reference for further study and development of this bioactive plant.Keywords:Cyclocarya paliurus;fingerprint;HPLC–Q–TOF–MS;quantitative analysis;quality evaluation