Application of mixture analysis to crude materials from natural resources (IV)[1(a-c)]: Identification of Glycyrrhiza species by direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (II)

Abstract

In order to identify Glycyrrhiza species by chemical fingerprinting, the bark of the roots and stolons of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fischer and G. glabra Linné were analyzed using DART (Direct Analysis in Real Time)-MS. The characteristic peaks of each species were determined statistically by volcano plot. This summarizes the relationship between the p-values of a statistical test and the magnitude of the difference in values of the samples in the groups. In this experiment, peaks that had a p value <0.05 in the t test and ≥2 absolute difference were defined as characteristic. As a result, characteristic peaks of G. uralensis were found at m/z 299, 315, 341, and 369. In contrast, characteristic peaks of G. glabra were found at m/z 323, 325, 337, 339, and 391. In conclusion, we found several characteristic peaks to distinguish G. uralensis and G. glabra by DART-MS using volcano plot. This method can be applied to identify the Glycyrrhiza species.