Objective: To establish an ultra-performance LC-quadrupole TOF MS (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) method of the crude and processed fruits of Ligustrum lucidum for metabolomic research

comparative study in their metabolite profiling was performed to explore the mechanism of processing the fruits of L. lucidum. Method: Metabolite profiling of crude and processed fruits of L. lucidum were performed using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS and multivariate statistical analysis technique. Results: There is significant difference of metabolite profiling among the crude and different processed fruits of L. lucidum. The chemical markers such as ligustaloside B for such variations was identified. And its contents in the crude L. lucidum was significantly higher that in the processed one. Conclusions: This study indicated that UPLC-Q-TOF-MS coupled with multivariate statistics is able to provide quality control of the crude and processed fruits of L. lucidum. While the results provide the basis for the mechanism of processing.