Screening of minor bioactive compounds from herbal medicines by in silico docking and the trace peak exposure methods

•A strategy for screening trace enzyme inhibitors in herbal medicines was proposed.•UF-LC-QTOF MS was used to preliminarily find the α-glucosidase binders.•Docking analysis was adopted to predict the potential trace inhibitors.•Segment and exposure approach based LC-QTOF MS was applied to identify trace compounds.•11 Compounds of Ginkgo biloba extract were identified as high-quality α-glucosidase inhibitors.