HPLC/QTOF‐MS/MS application to investigate phenolic constituents from Ficus pandurata H. aerial roots

Ficus pandurata H. aerial roots are used as a traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of uarthritis, indigestion and hyperuricemia. However, the bioactive constituents responsible for the pharmacological effects of F. pandurata H. are unclear. A simple and efficient HPLC/QTOF‐MS/MS (high‐performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization with quadrupole time‐of‐flight tandem mass spectrometry) method was established to detect and identify active constituents in the n‐butanol extract of F. pandurata H. aerial roots. Chemical constituents were separated and investigated by HPLC/QTOF‐MS/MS in the negative‐ion mode. Thirty‐seven compounds, including hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, hydroxybenzoic acid derivatives, hydroquinone glycosides, flavonoid glycosides, etc., were identified or tentatively characterized in the n‐butanol extract of F. pandurata H. aerial roots by comparing the UV spectra, accurate mass spectra and fragmentation pathways and retrieving the reference literatures. Moreover, the flavonoid trisaccharides and hydroxybenzoic acid derivatives were tentatively characterized in F. pandurata H. for the first time. The analytical tool used here is very valuable in the rapid separation and identification of the multiple and minor constituents in the n‐butanol extract of F. pandurata H. aerial roots. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.