Nantong University
Correction to: Stem Cell Research & Therapy (2024) 15:440. The original article initially erroneously presented co-author, Min Xu's name as Xu Min; this has since been amended.
This study evaluated the quality of Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma Tablets (FDRT) from two manufacturers. Eighteen batches from company A and twenty from company B were analyzed. HPLC fingerprints were established, and 33 common peaks were assigned. Quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (Q-TOF-MS/MS) identified 53 constituents, including 21 tannins, 12 phenolics, 7 flavonoids, 7 phenylpropanoid glycosides, 2 amino acids, 2 organic acids, 1 alkaloid, and 1 terpenoid. Among these, 3 phenolics (gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, protocatechualdehyde), 5 tannins (procyanidin B1, B2, B3, C1, C2), and 4 flavonoids (catechin, epicatechin, epicatechin gallate, rutin) were confirmed by reference substances. Nine constituents with good separation (excluding procyanidin C2, B2, and rutin) were quantified. The average content of these nine constituents in company B tablets was significantly higher than in company A (P < 0.01). Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principal component analysis (PCA), and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) consistently discriminated the two manufacturers into distinct clusters. Common peaks 30, 29, 16, 17, 2, 21, 10, 11, 18, 20, and 27, corresponding to procyanidin C2, B2, C1, B1, B3, gallic acid, epicatechin, etc., were identified as marker constituents responsible for quality differences. The results demonstrate significant quality divergence between FDRT from the two manufacturers.