Quality Evaluation of Prunellae Spica Based on Simultaneous Determination of Multiple Bioactive Constituents Combined with Grey Relational Analysis

Prunellae Spica (PS) is an important traditional Chinese herbal medicine (TCM) with massive consumption because of its therapeutical and seasoning effects. However, little attention has been paid to simultaneous analyze its bioactive components for quality control of PS based on its different growing habitats and different growth periods. In this study, the quality of PS was evaluated based on simultaneous determination of multiple bioactive components combined with grey relational analysis (GRA). A reliable method based on high-performance liquid chromatography tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (HPLCQTRAP-MS/MS) was established to simultaneously determine the contents of 21 components in PS, including 9 phenolic acids, 3 coumarins, 8 flavonoids and 1 pentacyclic triterpene. Furthermore, GRA was performed to evaluate the quality of PS samples according to the contents of these 21 components. The results showed that the quality of PS harvested on withering period, cultivated in Anhui was better than that of other PS samples. The proposed method is useful for the overall assessment on the quality of PS, and this study provides valuable information for revealing the dynamic change laws of metabolite accumulation in PS and choosing the most suitable harvesting time and genuine producing area of PS to obtain the best quality.