Rapid analysis of components in Qizhiweitong tablets and plasma after oral administration in rats by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS based on a self-developed database.

Qizhiweitong is a famous traditional Chinese prescription medicine. It has been used to treat various stomach disorders, such as functional dyspepsia, chronic gastritis and intestinal stress syndrome, for a long time and gives favorable therapeutic effects in clinical settings. However, its chemical composition and possible bioactive components are not completely known. In the present study, we used ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS) and qualitatively analyzed the chemical composition of Qizhiweitong tablet extract and the absorbed prototype constituents along with corresponding metabolites in rat plasma following oral administration of Qizhiweitong tablet on the basis of our self-developed component database that was established accurately and rapidly. We detected a total of 119 compounds and 61 xenobiotics in the Qizhiweitong tablet, which included 32 prototypes and 28 metabolites. The results of the present study laid a solid foundation for quality marker screening and an integrative pharmacology-based study on the Qizhiweitong tablet.