Tissue-specific chemical profiling and quantitative analysis of bioactive components of Cinnamomum cassia by combining laser-microdissection with UPLC-Q/TOF–MS

摘要

BackgroundCinnamomi Cortex, the dried stem bark of Cinnamomum cassia Presl (Rougui in Chinese) has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine, cooking and perfumery for thousands of years. Traditionally, the Cinnamomi Cortex of thick size is considered to be of good quality; however, there is no scientific data to support this point. Considering that essential oils are the main bioactive components, Cinnamomi Cortex of greater variety and amount essential oils is thought to be of better quality. In this study, laser microdissection coupled with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF–MS) was applied to profile the essential oils in different tissues of Cinnamomi Cortex and to determine if there is a correlation between the essential oil content and the stem bark thickness.