Identification of coumarins in traditional Chinese medicine by direct-injection electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

A simple and rapid method has been developed for the identification of coumarins in the crude extract of traditional Chinese medicine by direct-injection electrospray ionisation ( ESI ) and tandem mass spectrometry ( MS / MS ). In this study, osthole ( OS ) were evaluated directly in the extract of Angelica dahurica Benth , Radix Angelicae pubescentis , and Fructus cnidii using this method. Imperatorin ( IM ) and its isomers isoimperatorins ( IO ) were detected in the three traditional Chinese medicines by direct injection ESI/MS/MS and confirmed by HPLC-ESI/MS. Our experimental data reveal that ESI/MS/MS is a sensitive, rapid and convenient technique to identify some constituents in complex and mixed plant extracts.