Determination of four lignanoids in roots, stems and leaves of Zanthoxylum armatum DC by HPLC-DAD with HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS confirmation

A rapid, effective method through an orthogonal design was developed, and four lignanoids were determined by HPLC and confirmed by HPLC coupled with electrospray ionization and quadrupole timeof-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS). The roots, stems and leaves of Zanthoxylum armatum DC were extracted by methanol for 15 min under reflux. Separation was performed using an UPLC system to quantify four bioactive compounds, namely fargesin, asarinin, planispine A and planispine B, in 12 batches of samples of different origin from China. Furthermore, the samples were analyzed using HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS to confirm the results. The calibration curves of all four analytes showed good linearity (R > 0.998). Accuracy, precision and repeatability were all within required limits. The mean recoveries measured at the three concentrations were higher than 99% with RSDs lower than 4.1%. The established HPLC-DAD method could serve as a rapid and effective method for quality evaluation of Zanthoxylum armatum DC.