Background

Talinum paniculatum root (pseudo ginseng in Chinese) is a widely distributed medicinal plant material in Asia, Africa, and America. However, its chemistry remains poorly understood nowadays.

Methods

Fresh Talinum paniculatum root was treated for the preparation of a lyophilized aqueous extract. The extract thereafter was subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis using the library-aided ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole-Exactive-Orbitrap–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap-MS/MS) technology.

Results

Based on MS/MS elucidation and comparison with the authentic standards in the library of UHPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap-MS/MS apparatus, 22 compounds were accurately identified. Information retrieval suggested that 18 compounds belonged to “unexcavated” ones, which were found in the plant for the first time. Subsequently, all 22 compounds (including 18 “unexcavated” ones) were further quantified using the corresponding linear regression equations of authentic standards. All 22 compounds exhibited different contents from each other in the quantitative analysis. Particularly, synephrine had the highest content (8.159 ± 1.443 mg/g extract), and α-mangostin showed the lowest content (0.001 ± 0.000 mg/g extract), while chikusetsusaponin Iva displayed a moderate content (0.737 ± 0.274 mg/g extract).

Conclusion

On the basis of these results and relevant principles, synephrine, N-trans-feruloyltyramine, and chikusetsusaponin Iva are recommended as the anti-counterfeiting Q-markers of T. paniculatum root. These findings will help to understand the substance basis of the traditional medicinal functions of T. paniculatum root and to find a suitable quality-control method.