Determining the Active Ingredients of Dendrobium officinale and Tracing Its Region of Origin

A method for the determination of 22 active ingredients, including flavonoids, phenols, and glycosides, in Dendrobium officinale was established using UHPLC–MS/MS. The 22 active compounds presented good linear correlation coefficients in the concentration range of 0.005 and 10 µg·mL⁻¹, limits of detection and quantification ranging between 0.008 and 2.25 mg·kg⁻¹ and 0.025 and 7.5 mg·kg⁻¹, respectively, and interday and intraday RSDs ranging between 0.14 and 12.57% and 0.08 and 9.92%, respectively, and RE values ranging between 0.01 and 9.57% and 0.02 and 9.33%, respectively. Moreover, the detection sensitivity and stability of the method were good. D. officinale samples from different regions in Yunnan (Xishuangbanna, Baoshan, Dehong, and Wenshan) were effectively distinguished using OPLS-DA on the basis of the contents of 22 compounds, and ten differentially abundant metabolites, such as syringin, scutellarein, gallic acid, and gentisic acid, were identified, which can be used to identify the origin of D. officinale to some extent. The samples from Dehong presented relatively high levels of syringin, gentisic acid, protocatechuic acid, and gallic acid; the samples from Baoshan contained relatively high levels of apigenin, naringin, and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde; the samples from Wenshan exhibited relatively high levels of epicatechin gallate, scopoletin, and scutellarein; and the samples from Xishuangbanna presented relatively low levels of protocatechuic acid and gallic acid. The accumulation of active ingredients was affected by the D. officinale growth environment. There were no significant differences in the contents of epicatechin gallate, scopoletin, or scutellarein in the samples from the Dehong, Baoshan, and Xishuangbanna regions or in the content of apigenin in the samples from the Dehong and Xishuangbanna regions; however, there were large significant differences in the contents of all other differentially abundant metabolites between samples from the Wenshan region and those from the other three regions. This method is simple and effective and can provide technical support to trace the origin of Dendrobium species and other agricultural products.

Graphical Abstract