Chemical changes of Angelicae Sinensis Radix and Chuanxiong Rhizoma by wine treatment: chemical profiling and marker selection by gas chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry

BACKGROUND Angelicae Sinensis Radix (ASR) and Chuanxiong Rhizoma (CR) can be treated with wine to promote their biological functions in Chinese medicine. Both ASR and CR contain similar volatile chemicals that could be altered after wine treatment. This study aims to identify the differential chemical profiles and to select marker chemicals of ASR and CR before and after wine treatment. METHODS Chemical analyses were carried out by gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-QQQ-MS/MS) coupled with multivariate statistical analysis. Characterization of the compositions of essential oils was performed by automated matching to the MS library and comparisons of their mass spectra (NIST08 database). For ferulic acid, butylphthalide, Z-butylidenephthalide, senkyunolide A and Z-ligustilide, the mass spectrometer was operated in electron ionization mode, the selection reaction monitoring mode was used and an evaluation of the stability and sensitivity of the chromatographic system was performed for the tested extraction. RESULTS Principal component analysis (PCA) simultaneously distinguished ASR and CR from different forms. Ferulic acid, Z-butylidenephthalide, Z-ligustilide, butylphthalide and senkyunolide A were screened by PCA loading plots and can be used as chemical markers for discrimination among different groups of samples. CONCLUSION Different chemical profiles of ASR and CR after wine treatment could be identified by GC-QQQ-MS/MS. The five marker chemicals selected by PCA, namely ferulic acid, butylphthalide, Z-butylidenephthalide, senkyunolide A and Z-ligustilide, were sufficient to distinguish between the crude and corresponding wine-treated forms of ASR and CR.