Quantitative analysis of four parishin compounds in Gastrodia elata by UPLC-MS/MS and evaluation of quality characteristics

This study established an UPLC-MS/MS (ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry) method to quantify four parishin compounds in Gastrodia elata. Descriptive statistics, the entropy weight method combined with a grey relational analysis model, factor analysis, clustering, and cosine similarity analysis were employed to assess differences in parishin content across 25 Gastrodia elata samples from different regions and explore the relationships among their geographical origins. The results showed that ① The four parishin compounds (A, B, C, and E) demonstrated good linearity within the tested range (R² ≥ 0.9974), with precision RSD≤5.0%, repeatability RSD≤4.9%, and spiked recovery rates ranging from 80% to 95%; ② Descriptive statistics revealed significant variation in the content of the four compounds among samples from different regions. The sample from Shenyang, Liaoning (01#) had the highest total parishin content (29.291 mg/g), while the sample from Zhaotong, Yunnan (08#) had the lowest (8.666 mg/g); ③ The entropy weight method combined with grey relational analysis indicated that the top three quality samples were from Zhaotong, Yunnan (05#), Zhaotong, Yunnan (11#), and Baoshan, Yunnan (21#); ④ Cluster analysis based on factor analysis scores grouped the 25 samples into three categories at a threshold of 20. Cosine similarity analysis of the variable loadings revealed that parishin A, B, C, E, and total content were significantly negatively correlated with category 1; parishin E showed a significant positive correlation with category 2; and parishin B, C, and total content were significantly positively correlated with category 3. These findings demonstrate significant variability in parishin content across Gastrodia elata samples from different origins, with notable differences within groups. Overall, the quality of samples in clusters 1 and 2 was superior to those in cluster 3. The results provide a scientific foundation for quality evaluation and the selection of superior germplasm sources of Gastrodia elata from different production areas.