Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Phenolic Compounds in the Leaves of Aquilaria sinensis Using Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

INTRODUCTION: The leaves of Aquilaria sinensis traditionally have been used in China for a century. Phenolic compounds were investigated to be the major active compounds in them. OBJECTIVE: To establish a method that will simultaneously determine the phenolic compounds in Aquilaria sinensis leaves and identify their characteristic fragmentation patterns, and to make a comparison of A. sinensis leaf samples from different areas of China. METHODS: High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) and photodiode array detection (DAD) were used for the qualitative and quantitative analysis. RESULTS: Twenty-one compounds, including xanthones, benzophenones and flavones, were identified or tentatively characterised. The fragmentation patterns of xanthones and benzophenones were also described. Also, eight components in the herbal samples from different regions were determined by HPLC-DAD. CONCLUSION: The method developed is suitable for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of phenolic constituents in the leaves of A. sinensis.