Qualitative and Quantitative Comparisons on the Chemical Constituents in the Stems of Acanthopanax senticosus and A. sessiliflorus by Liquid Chromatography Combined With Multi‐detectors

Acanthopanax senticosus Harms (ASH) is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for its beneficial properties; however, its related species, A. sessiliflorus Seem (ASS), has emerged as a market substitute due to declining ASH resources. To systematically compare the chemical constituents in the stems of two plants, a multi-detector analytical approach was developed in the present study by combining ultra-/high performance liquid chromatography (U-/HPLC) with quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry (Q-TOF-MS), ultraviolet detector (UV), and charged aerosol detection (CAD). First, the chemical constituents of ASH and ASS were detected by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS, and a total of 120 compounds, including phenylpropanoids, triterpenoids, organic acids, etc., were identified. Among them, syringin, the Chinese Pharmacopoeia-designated quality marker for ASH, was determined via HPLC-UV, and it was found that the indicator was present in ASH at a concentration ranging from 0.06% to 0.13%, while ASS showed no detectable levels. Moreover, a semi-quantitative fingerprint method was developed based on UHPLC-CAD for the comparison of multi-component. The results revealed notable variations in the multi-component profiles of the two plants. Furthermore, the established fingerprint method was successfully applied for the differentiation of ASH samples adulterated with ASS. In sum, these findings underscore the significant chemical differences between ASH and ASS, emphasizing the need to prevent ASS adulteration in ASH-derived products.