Identification and quantification of steroidal saponins in Polygonatum species by HPLC/ESI/MS

An HPLC/ESI/MS method has been developed to identify and quantify the spirostanol glycosides in the rhizomes of five Polygonatum species. The relative distribution of two steroidal saponins in each extract was established using the selective ion monitoring (SIM) mode via an electrospray ionization (ESI) source. It was found that there were significant differences in the amount of spirostanol glycosides among the Polygonatum species. The results showed that this method could be used to identify the steroidal saponins in the extracts and differentiate Polygonatum species with high sensitivity and reproducibility in a short time. Fragmentation patterns of the two reference compounds were also discussed with the electrospray ionization multi-stage tandem mass spectroscopy (ESI-MSn).