Establishment of Fingerprint of Safflower Based on Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

A Ultra high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(UPLC-MS) fingerprint analysis method was established to provide reference for the quality identification of safflower. By investigating the factors such as the detection wavelength, gradient elution condition, extraction solvent and extraction method, safflower samples from 20 producing areas were separated and analyzed under optimum conditions. Chromatographic column:Thermo Hypersil Gold C₁₈, 100 mm×2.1 mm, 1.9 μm, mobile phase:0.1% formic acid aqueous solution (A)-acetonitrile (B); flow rate:0.3 mL/min; column temperature:30℃; detection wavelength:270 nm; injection rate:2 μL; mass spectrometry conditions:sheath gas velocity:45 arb, auxiliary gas velocity 15 arb, atomization voltage:3.3 KV, ion transfer tube temperature:350℃, auxiliary gas heating temperature:400℃. The results showed that 67 common peaks were identified and 11 of them were identified by UPLC-MS. The similarity of fingerprints of 20 batches of safflower from different habitats was evaluated. The similarity ranged from 0.687 to 0.971. The UPLC-MS fingerprint can provide the basis for the quality control of safflower.