Comparative analysis and chemical profiling of different forms of Peucedani Radix

Peucedani Radix, derived from roots of Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn, is a well-known herb used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine, which is rich in various coumarins. Four different forms including “earthworm head”, “bamboo-like”, taproots and multi-branched roots have occurred in current producing areas, but the differences in their external features and chemistry have not been concerned till now. In this study, the morphological and microscopic characters of “earthworm head” and “bamboo-like” roots were compared in detail, and qualitative and quantitative characterization of main active coumarins in different forms of Peucedani Radix have been developed by UPCL-Q/TOF-MS and HPLC-DAD, respectively. The results showed that both “earthworm head” and “bamboo-like” consisted of rhizome and root, exhibiting distinct features from normal taproots. Moreover, 53 coumarins including simple coumarins, furanocoumarins and pyranocoumarins were identified or putatively characterized from the four forms samples under the established UPLC-Q/TOF-MS conditions. In addition, the developed quantitative method was successfully applied to simultaneously determine eight main coumarins in 24 batches of four forms Peucedani Radix and 12 batches of dissected “earthworm head” and “bamboo-like” samples. The quantitative results proved that wild “earthworm head” showed higher content of active coumarins and the “bamboo-like” was a rich source of coumarins in cultivated samples, especially for furanocoumarins. These findings would provide reasonable basis for further quality evaluation, grades classification and comprehensive utilization of P. praeruptorum resources.