Abstract:Lycium ruthenicum Murr is rich in polyphenols, and chlorogenic acids are important phenolic acids. In order to determine the content of chlorogenic acids in Lycium ruthenicum Murr grown in Qinghai province, the Folin-Ciocalteu method was used to determine the total polyphenolic content, and the pH differential method was applied to determine the total anthocyanin content. The content of six types of chlorogenic acids with similar structure was determined with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass-spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) by multiple reaction monitoring. The total polyphenolic content and the total anthocyanin content of Lycium ruthenicum Murr were (4906.5±60.6)?10-2 mg GAE/g DW and (87.6±34.1)?10-2 mg CYG/g DW, respectively. The UHPLC-MS/MS results showed that the highest chlorogenic acid content was 902.97 μg/g, and the content of neochlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, isochlorogenic acid A, isochlorogenic acid B, and isochlorogenic acid C was 3.72 μg/g, 81.78 μg/g, 13.71 μg/g, 1.10 μg/g, and 1.80 μg/g, respectively. The experimental results indicated that Lycium ruthenicum Murr contained numerous types of chlorogenic acids at high concentrations. The UHPLC-MS/MS method provided rapid measurement, good reproducibility, accurate results, and a good linear relationship (R2=0.9989~0.9994), and the average recovery was in the range of 83.00%~103.89%. This method can be applied in the determination of chlorogenic acid content and the quality control of Lycium ruthenicum Murr.
