Identification and characterization of Podophyllum emodi by API-LC/MS/MS

An API-LC/MS/MS method was developed for the identification of the medicina l herb Podophyllum emodi based on the profile of its aryltetrahydronapthale ne and related lignan marker compounds. This was done by matching the struc tural information from the tandem mass spectrometric data with those lignan marker compounds already reported for the herb. The method could be employ ed in the absence of reference standards for the markers and was particular ly useful in view of the scarcity of supply of these chemical standards, It has been used successfully to differentiate Podophyllum emodi from two com monly used medicinal herbs of a different genus but having similar appearan ce, Radix clematidis and Radix gentiana, as well as a closely related herb, Podophyllum peltatum, Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.