Rapid Identification of Steroidal Saponins in Trillium Tschonoskii Maxim by Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Electrospray Ionisation Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Introduction Steroidal saponins in Trillium tschonoskii Maxim have many biological activities, including immunological regulation and anti-tumour. Comprehensive ingredient identification is critical for understanding its pharmacological mechanism and establishing quality control protocols. However, it is a challenging problem because of the complexity of steroidal saponins. Objectives To develop a UPLC-MS method for identifying and characterising steroidal saponins in the root and rhizome of T. tschonoskii. Methods Methanolic extracts of T. tschonoskii were analysed by using ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionisation quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI/QTOF/MS). The UPLC experiments were performed by means of a reversed-phase C₁₈-column and a binary mobile phase system consisting of water and acetonitrile with formic acid under gradient elution conditions. For the UPLC-MS measurements, positive and negative ion modes were used in order to obtain better tandem mass spectra and high-resolution mass spectra. Results Based on retention times, accurate mass and mass spectrometric fragmentation, a total of 31 saponins distributed over eight steroidal aglycone skeletons were identified or tentatively elucidated from T. tschonoskii. Conclusion The UPLC-ESI/QTOF/MS method has proven to be a powerful tool for rapid identification of steroidal saponins in T. tschonoskii without tedious and time-consuming isolation of pure constituents.