Lingzhi and Tianma are common and valuable Chinese medicines. Due to their high commercial value, problems of counterfeiting, adulterating and confusing Lingzhi and Tianma species are not uncommon in the market. Recently, Dr Yao Zhong-ping and his research team adopted the direct ionisation mass spectrometry (DI-MS) method to detect the major active components of Lingzhi and Tianma.
By directly applying a high voltage to a solvents-loaded Chinese medicine sample, spray ionisation will be induced to generate its corresponding mass spectra within minutes. The presence of major active components in the DI-MS spectra authenticates genuine samples from counterfeit ones. In addition, by utilising Principal Component Analysis, wild and cultivated types of Chinese medicine can be classified and geographical origins can be differentiated.
The method is simple and rapid, and can be easily adopted as no additional specialised device is required. With the potential of further application in analysing other kinds of herbal medicines, this innovation is expected to bring positive impact to the Chinese herbal medicine industry. Details>>