Simultaneous Characterisation of Fifty Coumarins from the Roots of Angelica dahurica by Off‐line Two‐dimensional High‐performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Electrospray Ionisation Tandem Mass Spectrometry

The root of Angelica dahurica is a traditional Chinese medicine that used for the treatment of headache, toothache, abscess, furunculosis and acne. Coumarins were the major bioactive constituents of A. dahurica , hence it is worthwhile developing a method to simultaneously characterise them, especially those in trace amounts. Objective To develop an efficient method for the simultaneous characterisation of coumarins in A. dahurica . Methods A method using off‐line two‐dimensional high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (off‐line 2D‐HPLC–ESI/MS n ) was developed. Results In total 50 coumarins, including 32 linear furanocoumarins, 16 bifuranocoumarins and two non‐furanocoumarins, were identified from the roots of A. dahurica . The possible MS fragmentations of these coumarins are also proposed. Conclusion The method described here allows rapid and convenient identification of the coumarins in A. dahurica , and may be applied to other herbal medicines containing linear furanocoumarins. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.