Optimal extraction and fingerprint analysis of Cnidii fructus by accelerated solvent extraction and high performance liquid chromatographic analysis with photodiode array and mass spectrometry detections

A confirmatory and reliable procedure has been developed for extraction and determination of Cnidii fructus by accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array, electrospray ionisation ion trap tandem mass spectrometry and time of flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-PDA-ESI-ITMSn/TOF-MS). The determination method enabled the characterisation of sixteen bioactive components in C. fructus and quantification of three major coumarins, namely osthole, imperatorin and isopimpinellin. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimise the extraction parameters yielding the optimum conditions of ASE (extraction temperature 122 °C, extraction time 5 min and two static cycles). And the total contents of three major coumarins extracted by ASE under the optimum conditions was significantly higher than those by reflux and ultrasonic extraction (P < 0.05) with better reproducibility. At last, the proposed method coupled with pattern recognition was applied to analysis of C. fructus from eight different regions in China.