Chemical profiling and quantitation of bioactive compounds in Platycladi Cacumen by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS and UPLC-DAD

In 2018, researchers conducted a study to analyze the chemical composition of Platycladi Cacumen (PC), a traditional Chinese medicine used for treating hair loss among other ailments. They identified 43 compounds using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS, including two compounds, coumarin and lignan, reported for the first time in PC. Additionally, they quantitatively analyzed nine major flavonoids across 39 batches of PC from different locations and 10 batches of processed PC using UPLC-DAD and hierarchical cluster analysis, finding significant variations in flavonoid content. The study established a method with high precision and accuracy for quantifying flavonoids in PC, which could help in quality control of this herbal medicine. The method showed good linearity, low detection and quantification limits, and high recovery rates. The analysis indicated that processing PC leads to chemical changes, with quercitrin being the most abundant compound in raw PC and flavonoid aglycones predominating in processed samples. The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and provides a scientific approach for the quality control of PC.