Identification of Dendrobium devonianum Samples With Different Growth Years Based on Active Ingredients and Deduction of the Chemical Structural Transformation

A rapid method was developed for the determination of nine active ingredients in Dendrobium devonianum, a specialty of Yunnan, China, using UHPLC–MS/MS. Principal component analysis was used for the systematic identification of D. devonianum samples with different growth years. The first three principal components completely covered the content information in the samples and effectively differentiated between D. devonianum samples with different growth years. Correlation analysis using Pearson's correlation coefficient showed a significant correlation between vanillic acid and the age of the samples, between 4-hydroxy benzaldehyde and eriodictyol, and between isoquercetin and hyperoside. The results of the volcano plot analysis showed that the up-regulated components among samples with different growth years were mainly naringin, apigenin, and 4-hydroxy benzaldehyde; the content of 4-hydroxy benzaldehyde varied the most among the D. devonianum samples with different growth years. Through a literature review and analysis of the changes in the active compounds in D. devonianum samples with different growth years, the chemical structural transformation of the active compounds in D. devonianum was deduced, and the optimal harvesting period of D. devonianum in Yunnan was determined to be the fourth year of growth.