Quality Evaluation of Ilex asprella Based on Simultaneous Determination of Five Bioactive Components, Chlorogenic Acid, Luteoloside, Quercitrin, Quercetin, and Kaempferol, Using UPLC-Q-TOF MS Study.

Background: Ilex asprella (Hook. Et Arn.) Champ. Ex Benth. is one of the representative medicinal plants that naturally grows in South China. It serves as a major component of herbal tea as an aid for sore throat, toothache, and acne, and it is a folk medicine for treating upper respiratory tract inflammation resulting from fever, infectious hepatitis, and enteritis. Objective: To evaluate the quality of Ilex asprella, the bioactive components were identified comprehensively using quadruple time-of-flight (Q-TOF) MS, and the HPLC method for quality evaluation was established for the first time. Methods: Detection was conducted under the positive electrospray ionization mode with the 110 V fragment voltage and 4.0 kV capillary voltage for the ultra-performance LC-Q-TOF MS study. A Thermo Fisher C18 column (4.6 × 150 mm, 5 μm) associated with the 0.10% formic acid and acetonitrile as mobile phase and gradient elution was carried out for separation process, and the HPLC quality evaluation was detected at a wavelength of 340 nm. Results: The method was validated according to the International Conference on Harmonization regulation including LOQ, LOD, recovery, replication, precision, and linearity. The contents of five components were important for quality evaluation of Ilex asprella. Moreover, luteoloside and quercitrin had more significant impact than others. Conclusions: A specific accurate method has been proposed for the identification of the bioactive components and applied to simultaneous quantification analysis of five components in Ilex asprella. Highlights: The quality evaluation of Ilex asprella established based on its bioactive components can provide a solid promotion for applications of Ilex asprella in food and drug fields.