HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS ANALYSIS OF ARTEMISIA CINA L E AV E S AQUEOUS EXTRACT AND FLAVONOID ISOLATION USING HIGH-SPEED COUNTERCURRENT CHROMATOGRAPHY

Artemisia cina Berg ex Poljakov, a shrubby plant endemic to the semi-arid areas of Kazakhstan, has as a long history of being used in traditional medicine as an antitumour, antifungal, and anthelmintic agent. In a preliminary study carried out on different methodologies to produce aqueous extracts of A. cina,it was seen that a simple aqueous extract of A. cina (as in an infusion of the plant) had strong anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. In the current study, profiling of this aqueous extract was performed using Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Ionization-Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (LC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS) while High-Speed Countercurrent Chromatography (HSCCC) and a Sephadex LH-20 column were utilised to isolate and purify the extract in ethyl acetate obtained from the original infusion. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) was used for structural elucidation. The flavonoid spinacetin 7-O-glucoside was found to be one of the main compounds present in the A. cina infusion. Flavonoids and artemisinin identified by LC-MS in this infusion are hypothesised to be the key compounds behind its anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity, however this needs to be further tested and explored.