Rapid identification of chemical constituents in Xuezhikang Capsule by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS^E combined with the establishment of UNIFI MS database

An UPLC-Q-TOF/MS^E technology coupled with UNIFI database was used to develop a rapid, high coverage, accurate and efficient chemical composition qualitative method for Xuezhikang Capsule. A UNIFI database was established utilizing compound name, formula, structure, following automatic matching with high-resolution mass numbers, isotope distributions, mass deviations, fragment ion matching, and chromatographic retention features in UNIFI database to achieve the qualitative results of natural products in Xuezhikang Capsules. Combined with manual confirmation, 82 chemical components were identified in Xuezhikang Capsules, and the MS² fragmentation pathway of typical organic acids, flavonoids, monacrines, and monascus were analyzed to ensure accuracy of the LC-MS workflow. This study clarified the chemical substance basis of Xuezhikang Capsules by LC-MS technology, providing experimental data support for the identification of key quality attributes, quality control and consistency evaluation in the manufacturing process of Xuezhikang Capsules.