# Quality Evaluation of Decoction Pieces of Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma Based on HPLC Fingerprint, Q-TOF-MS/MS, and Chemical Pattern Recognition Qualitative Analysis Combined With Multicomponent Quantitative Analysis

## TL;DR

This study evaluates the quality of Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma decoction pieces from different Chinese provinces using advanced chemical analysis techniques.

## Contribution

A comprehensive quality evaluation framework combining HPLC, Q-TOF-MS/MS, and chemical pattern recognition for FDR decoction pieces.

## Key findings

- Decoction pieces from Yunnan and Guizhou show significantly better quality than those from six other provinces.
- 47 common peaks were identified, with 80 components including tannins, phenols, and flavonoids.
- Chemical pattern recognition methods confirmed quality differences between regions.

## Abstract

Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma (FDR), the dried rhizome of Fagopyrum dibotrys (D. Don) Hara (F. dibotrys), is a famous herbal drug with a long application history in China. Recently, FDR and its preparations have attracted wide attention due to their therapeutic values for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and COVID-19-related acute lung injury. There is a significant difference in quality among FDRs from different habitats, which can seriously affect the clinical efficacy. The original medicinal materials can only be used in the clinic after being processed into decoction pieces, but there is currently a lack of comprehensive quality evaluation of FDR decoction pieces prepared using FDRs from different origins. In this study, the HPLC fingerprints of 23 batches of FDR decoction pieces prepared using FDRs from 8 provinces such as Yunnan and Guizhou in China were established; 47 common peaks in these fingerprints were marked, among which, 80 components were identified by Q-TOF-MS/MS, including 32 tannins, 17 phenols, 12 flavonoids, 11 phenylpropanoid glycosides, 3 amino acids, 2 organic acids, 1 terpenoid, 1 alkaloid, and 1 other component; the chemical pattern recognition analysis, including hierarchical cluster analysis, principal component analysis, and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis, was conducted by using the quantified peak areas of the common peaks as variables; and the contents of 4 tannins such as procyanidin B1, procyanidin B3, procyanidin C1, and procyanidin A2, 3 phenolics such as gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, and protocatechualdehyde, and 3 flavonoids such as catechin, epicatechin, and epicatechin gallate were determined in 23 batches of FDR decoction pieces. The results indicate that there is a significant difference in the quality between the decoction pieces prepared using FDRs from Yunnan and Guizhou and those prepared using FDRs from 6 other provinces, and the former have a better quality compared with the latter.