Abstract
A flow-injection mass spectrometric metabolic fingerprinting method in combination with chemometrics was used to differentiate Aurantii Fructus Immaturus from its counterfeit Poniciri Trifoliatae Fructus Immaturus. Flow-injection mass spectrometric (FIMS) fingerprints of 9 Aurantii Fructus Immaturus samples and 12 Poniciri Trifoliatae Fructus Immaturus samples were acquired and analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) and soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA). The authentic herbs were differentiated from their counterfeits easily. Eight characteristic components which were responsible for the differences between the samples were tentatively identified. Furthermore, three out of the eight components, naringin, hesperidin, and neohesperidin, were quantified. The results are useful to help identify the authenticity of Aurantii Fructus Immaturus.