Analysis of Chemical Constituents of Traditional Chinese Medicine Jianqu before and after Fermentation Based on LC-MS/MS

Objective: To detect the chemical constituents in Jianqu samples under different fermentated states by using UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS technology, to conduct preliminary analyses, and to establish an HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of hesperidin and naringenin in Jianqu, and the variation of the two components during fermentation were compared. Methods: Waters ACQUITYTM UPLC HSST3 column (2.1 mm × 100 mm, 1.8 μm) was used; the mobile phase was 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution (A)-0.1% formic acid acetonitrile (B); The flow rate was 0.4 mL·min(−1) with gradient elution; the column temperature was 45 °C; injection volume was 5 μL. The mass spectra of the samples were collected by negative ion mode under the electrospray ion source, and the data were screened and matched by UNIFI software. Hypersil gold C18 column (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.9 μm) was used; the mobile phase was acetonitrile (A)-0.1% acetic acid (B);; the flow rate with gradient elution was 0.3 mL·min(−1); the column temperature was 30 °C; the injection volume was 2 μL. The content changes of hesperetin and naringenin in Jianqu at different fermentation time were detected. Results: A total of 54 compounds were identified, including flavonoids, amino acids, organic acids, terpenoids, coumarins, lignans, and other compounds. Under the selected HPLC conditions, the linear relationship between hesperidin and naringenin was discovered (r(2) = 0.9996). The content of hesperidin and naringenin changed significantly in the whole fermentation process. The highest concentration of content was observed at 36 h of fermentation and then decreased to varying degrees. Conclusion: This experiment can effectively identify various chemical components in Jianqu during different fermentation periods, and determine the content of the characteristic components, so as to provide a scientific basis for further study of Jianqu fermentation processing technology as well as a sound pharmacodynamic material basis.