Discrimination of toxic ingredient between raw and processed Pinellia ternata by UPLC/Q-TOF-MS/MS with principal component analysis and T-test

To investigate the toxicity difference between raw and processed Pinelliae Rhizoma (Banxia in Chinese, BX), the rhizoma of Pinellia ternata, from the view of chemical composition. Sixteen samples of raw and processed BX were prepared and analyzed by UPLC/Q-TOF-MS/MS. The discrimination (chemical marker) between the two group was investigated by principal component analysis (PCA) and T-test analysis. According to the accurate charge-to-mass ratio, MS/MS fragments, and comparison of corresponding data with the reference or database, the chemical markers were identified preliminarily. Liquiritin, liquiritigenin, and lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) were identified as the characteristic markers. The reducing of LPC in processed BX was one of the main reasons for detoxification because LPC could induce the inflammatory response; Liquiritin and liquiritigenin showed the anti-inflammatory effect and reduced liver injury, therefore the appearance of them in processed BX was an another reason for detoxification. An approach to explain the mechanisms of reducing the toxicity in medicinal plants by processing was proposed. Moreover, the chemical markers of toxicity could be used to differentiate the raw material from processed herbs for the quality control and safety application in clinical practice.