Identification and determination of chemical constituents of Citrus reticulata semen through ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography combined with Q Exactive Orbitrap tandem mass spectrometry.

Citrus reticulata semen, a traditional Chinese medicinal material, has desirable medicinal and dietary properties. In this study, a method combining ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography with Q Exactive Orbitrap tandem mass spectrometry was established and validated for the identification and analysis of the chemical components of Citrus reticulata semen for the first time. The evaluation of different retention times and fragmentation characteristics, as well as comparative analysis with the literature, resulted in the identification of 35 chemical constituents, including 21 flavonoids and 14 other compounds. The 21 flavonoids derived from Citrus reticulata semen were reported for the first time. Seven of the chemical components of Citrus reticulata semen were quantitatively analyzed using the developed method under the optimal conditions. The results showed that the content of limonin, hesperidin, nobiletin, synephrine, tangeretin, 3,5,6,7,8,3',4'-heptamethoxyflavone and 5-hydroxide-6,7,8,3',4'-pentamethoxyflavone in Citrus reticulata semen was 11.1666, 0.0404, 0.0092, 0.0255, 0.0087, 0.0010 and 0.0008 mg/g, respectively. This study demonstrated that the UHPLC-Q Exactive Orbitrap-MS-based method can be used to rapidly and reliably analyze the chemical constituents of Citrus reticulata semen. These results provide a scientific basis for further studies of Citrus reticulata semen. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.