Chemical Profiling of an Antimigraine Herbal Preparation, Tianshu Capsule, Based on the Combination of HPLC, LC-DAD-MS(n), and LC-DAD-ESI-IT-TOF/MS Analyses

Chemical profiling is always the first task in the standardization and modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine. HPLC and LC-MS were employed to find out the common chromatographic peaks in various batches of Tianshu Capsule (TSC) and the contribution of the characteristic peaks from individual herbs to the whole chromatographic profile of TSC sample. A total of 38 constituents were identified in TSC sample based on the comparison of retention time and UV spectra with authentic compounds as well as by summarized MS fragmentation rules and matching of empirical molecular formula with those of published components. This is the first systematic report on the chemical profiling of the commercial TSC product, which provides the sufficiently chemical evidence for the global quality evaluation of TSC products.