Direct authentication of three Chinese materia medica species of the Lilii Bulbus family in terms of volatile components by headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry

Abstract

Juandan-Baihe (Lilium lancifolium Thunb.), Lanzhou-Baihe (Lilium davidii var. unicolor), and Jin-Baihe (Lilium trompeten) are of the same family, but of different genera. They have often been used in Chinese Materia Medica (CMM) as Lilii Bulbus in the Chinese market. These three species of CMM are often confused, and thus, for better application, they must be accurately identified. Herein we use a headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) technique as a screening system to authenticate the three species of CMM. The obtained ion mobility data were processed using LAV processing software to identify fingerprints and perform principal component analysis (PCA). From the fingerprints, fifty peaks, for 36 compounds, were identified, among which 3-methylbutanal was the most abundant in Lilium lancifolium Thunb. (JD), butanone was the most abundant in Lilium davidii var. unicolor (LZ), and 3-methylbutanoic acid and 2-heptanone were the most abundant in Lilium trompeten (WP). All three species have a characteristic area in the fingerprint containing their characteristic biomarker. The PCA for the initial solution to original variables showed that the two principal components accounted for 53% and 21% of the total variance. This research is aimed at establishing a green, rapid method based on HS-GC-IMS to provide scientific data for discrimination between Lilii Bulbus from different species.