Chemical fingerprint analysis and identification of Dendranthema lavandulifolium buds

Abstract The bud of Dendranthema lavandulifolium (Jumi) is a featured agricultural product in Zhejiang Province (China) with active effects on liver detoxing and vision improvement. In order to evaluate the quality and identify geographical origin of Jumi, a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) chemical fingerprinting method was developed for simultaneous detection of multi-target components. Among the 16 common peaks in the fingerprint, 6 phenylpropanoids, 5 flavonoids and 2 volatile compounds were identified through combinational analytical applications of ultraviolet spectrum (UV), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Phenylpropanoids and flavonoids were found to be the major potential antioxidants in Jumi based on the pre-column DPPH-HPLC assay. For simultaneous analysis of multi-target components, HPLC quantitative method was constructed by using 11 identified compounds. The results demonstrated that the chemical compositions and contents among 10 batches of Jumi are consistent. 6 phenylpropanoids and 3 flavonoids appeared as the main constituents in Jumi and showed obviously higher contents (>1 mg/g). Especially, the contents of two flavanones, eriodictyol-7- O-β - d -glucuronide and eriodictyol-7- O-β - d -glucoside are prominent in Jumi. The principal component analysis (PCA) suggests obvious differences between Jumi and other cultivars buds. Eriodictyol-7- O-β - d -glucuronide, isochlorogenic acid A (3, 5-diCQA), chlorogenic acid (3-CQA), and isochlorogenic acid C (4, 5-diCQA) can be used as the specific target components to distinguish Jumi from other buds.