Characterization and quantification of major constituents of Xue Fu Zhu Yu by UPLC-DAD–MS/MS

► A rapid and comprehensive UPLC-DAD–MS method was established to assess the quality of four dosage forms of XFZY. ► 25 compounds were identified by UPLC–MS/MS in four dosage forms, which originated from ten herbs of XFZY. ► 12 active compounds were quantified in four dosage forms of XFZY within 20min. Xue Fu Zhu Yu (XFZY), a classic recipe in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been demonstrated to show protective effects on cardiovascular system. For quality control of XFZY products, qualitative analysis using ultra high performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detector–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-DAD–MS) was undertaken. Twenty-eight compounds from XFZY were simultaneously detected; among them, seventeen compounds were unequivocally identified, and another eight compounds were tentatively characterized. According to qualitative results, a new method for quantitative analysis of XFZY has been established by ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector (UPLC-DAD). Twelve representative compounds unequivocally identified were used as chemical markers in quantitative analysis, including 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde (5-HMF), hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA), amygdalin, albiflorin, paeoniflorin, liquiritin, ferulic acid (FA), naringin, hesperidin, neohesperidin (NH), isoliquiritigenin (IL) and glycyrrhizic acid (GA), which were derived from nine of eleven herbs of XFZY except Platycodon grandiflorum (Jacq.) A. DC. (Jiegeng) and Bupleurum chinense DC. (Chaihu). This UPLC method was validated in terms of linearity, LOD and LOQ, precision, repeatability, stability, and recovery tests. Quality control of XFZY products in total fourteen samples by four dosage forms was examined by this method, and results confirmed its feasibility and reliability in practice.