Abstract

Background: The dried fruit of Chaenomeles speciosa, known as Chaenomelis Fructus or Zhoupi Mugua, is a type of traditional

Chinese medicine (TCM) that is widely used to treat many diseases. Guangpi Mugua, the dried fruit of the Chaenomeles

sinensis, is its most commonly known adulterant.

Objective: To establish a robust approach for the quality control and identification of Chaenomelis Fructus.

Method: Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) was optimized and used to discriminate Chaenomelis Fructus from Guangpi

Mugua. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combined with fingerprint analysis and partial least-squares (PLS)

discrimination analysis (DA) was employed to study the chemical differences between Chaenomelis Fructus and Guangpi

Mugua. The single standard to determine multi-components (SSDMC) method, with credible precision, repeatability,

stability, and durability, was developed for quantitative analysis of the abundant markers.

Results: The developed TLC and HPLC methods were effective in the authentication of Chaenomelis Fructus. Moreover,

oleanolic acid, ursolic acid, pomolic acid, corosolic acid, 3-O-acetylpomolic acid, and one unknown compound were

identified to be critical markers for the discrimination of Chaenomelis Fructus from Guangpi Mugua.

Conclusion: Adulteration has always been a challenge in the development of TCM. This study presents useful insights that

may help solve the problem of adulteration during the preparation of Chaenomelis Fructus.

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The reference standards, tormentic acid and pomolic acid, were obtained from the Chengdu Lemeitian Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd (Chengdu, China),

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