Objective: To establish an UPLC-MS/MS method for simultaneous determination of 14 components (berberine

phellodendrine

palmatine

magnoflorine

jatrorrhizine

tetrahydroberberine

tetrahydropalmatine

chlorogenic acid

ferulic acid

obaculactone

obacunone

atractylenolide I

atractylenolideⅡandatractylenolideⅢ) in Ermiaosan extracts. Method: A Waters Acquity BEH C18 column (2.1 mm×100 mm

1.7 μm) was used

with a mobile phase composed of 0.1% formic acid (A)-methanol (B) for gradient elution (0-1.0 min

10% B; 1.0-8.0 min

10%-60% B; 8.0-9.0 min

60%-90% B; 9.0-13.0 min

90% B; 13.0-13.1 min

90%-10% B; 13.1-15.0 min

10% B).The flow rate was 0.3 mL·min-1

and the injection volume was 5 μL; 14 analytes were monitored under positive ionization conditions by multi reaction monitoringin an electrospray ionization mode.Mass spectrometric parameters of spectrometer and 14 index components were optimized for testing.Independent t-test (t-test) was applied for the data processing. Result: Within a certain linear range

the calibration curves of 14 analytes showed a good linearity (r > 0.999 5). The average recovery of 14 analytes were between 95%and 110%

with RSD ≤ 5%. The content of 14 components in different batches of samples wasslightly different. The compatibility of Ermiaosan showed a superiority

with increases inthe contents of phellodendrine

magnoflorine and atractylenolide (P < 0.05). Conclusion: It is the first report about simultaneous analysis of 14 components in Ermiaosan extracts by UPLC-MS/MS

and highly sensitive

stable

reliable and high reproducible

and provides a basis for comprehensive evaluation for quality of Ermiaosan extracts.