Quantitative determination of multi-class bioactive constituents for quality assessment of ten , four and one species in China.

Objective: To establish multi-class bioactive constituents' determination of ten , four and one species, and provide reference for the improvement of their quality control.

Methods: HPLC-ELSD and phenol-sulphuric acid methods were used for the quantitative determination of lactone glycosides (kinsenoside and its diastereoisomer, goodyeroside A) and polysaccharides, respectively, while an efficient iHPLC-MS/MS method was established for rapid determination of other minor constituents in ten species and five related species.

Results: The contents of kinsenoside, goodyeroside A, polysaccharides and flavonoids varied notably almost in all tested samples, including both wild plants and tissue cultures. In particular, kinsenoside was the major lactone glycoside in , , , , and , whereas goodyeroside A was the predominant constituent in , , , , , , , and .

Conclusion: Our present study suggested that , , , , and species cannot be used as alternatives for . , and goodyeroside A may be reasonably used as a diagnostic marker for distinguishing from , , and , and species The established method thus could be potentially used for the quality evaluation and control of and some related species.