Rapid separation and characterization of comprehensive ingredients in Yangxinshi tablet and rat plasma by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS) was widely used in identification of complex ingredients in traditional Chinese herbs and herbal medicinal preparations for its excellent performance. Yangxinshi tablet, a Chinese compound herbal medicinal formula, has excellent efficacy for the clinical treatment of cardiovascular diseases, but its active ingredients are unclear. In this study, a rapid and sensitive UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS and secondary mass spectrometry (MS2) method were developed to characterize the comprehensive ingredients in Yangxinshi tablet and rat plasma after drug administration. And finally a total of 178 constituents in the Yangxinshi tablet were identified effectively, and 39 parent molecules in rat plasma were rapidly characterized by matching the Yangxinshi tablet chemical library established by ourselves. Of which, seven groups of isomers were further distinguished according to their MS2 spectra and fragmentation ions. Furthermore, 31 metabolites in the rat plasma were specified and elucidated according to their typical fragmentation ions, and their main metabolic pathways were hydration of phase I reaction and glucuronidation of phase II reaction. It is concluded that this established analysis method is rapid, specific, and practical, and these analysis results will provide help for further quality control and pharmacological study of Yangxinshi tablet.