Simultaneous determination of various platycosides in Four Platycodon grandiflorum cultivars by UPLC-QTOF/MS

In Platycodi Radix (root of Platycodon grandiflorum), there are a number of platycosides that consist of a pentacyclic triterpenoid aglycone and two sugar moieties. Due to the pharmacological activities of platycosides, it is critical to assess their contents in PR, and develop an effective method to profile various platycosides is required. In this study, an analytical method based on ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight/mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF/MS) with an in-house library was developed and applied to profile various platycosides from four different Platycodi Radix cultivars. As a result, platycosides, including six isomeric pairs, were successfully analyzed in the PRs. In the principal component analysis, several platycosides were represented as main variables to differentiate the four Platycodi Radix cultivars. Their different levels of platycosides were also represented by relative quantification. Finally, this study indicated the proposed method based on the UPLC-QTOF/MS can be an effective tool for identifying the detail characterization of various platycosides in the Platycodi Radix.