ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Chem.
Sec. Analytical Chemistry
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fchem.2025.1587915
A quantitative LC-MS/MS method for residues analysis of 62 plant growth regulators and the investigation of their effects on the quality of traditional Chinese medicinal: Codonopsis Radix as a case study
Provisionally accepted
Hongxu Zhou1
Yue Ren2Yangli Wang1Jing Su1Xiangmin Zhou1Siyu Huang1Rui Yan1Jun Zeng1
Min Chen3
EN ZHANG1
Xiaohu Chen1*- 1Chongqing Institute for Food and Drug Control, Chongqing, China
- 2School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
- 3Southwest University, Chongqing, Chongqing Municipality, China
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Plant growth regulators (PGRs) enhance the biosynthesis of plant secondary metabolites but can cause environmental pollution and health risks, especially if synthetic or overused. Here, we developed a simple, high-throughput method using salting-out extraction and LC-MS/MS to analyze 62 PGR residues. The extraction, chromatographic conditions, and spectrometric parameters were systematically optimized. The extraction process was performed with acetonitrile-water (1:1), EN15662 extraction salt and d-SPE sorbent. This method was applied to analyze commercial and field trial Codonopsis Radix (CR) samples. The limit of quantification (LOQ), for 62 PGRs ranged from 0.03 to 82.50 μg/kg, and the limit of detection (LOD) ranged from 0.01 to 18.58 μg/kg. Furthermore, we employed plant metabolomics to assess changes in secondary metabolites in CR following fertilizer application and conducted a correlation analysis to explore the relationship between PGRs and secondary metabolites. In commercial samples, residues of 10 PGRs were detected, while in field trial samples, residues of 7 PGRs were found. In plant metabolomics, the arrangement of CR samples, which have been exposed to different fertilization levels, along the axes of partial least squaresdiscriminant analysis (PLS-DA) indicates that the chemical composition of CR experiences substantial alterations once a particular fertilization threshold is surpassed. The correlation analysis showed that PGRs boost amino acid metabolite synthesis and inhibit alkaloid biosynthesis. This study focuses on quality and safety concerns from the unchecked use of PGRs in CR production. It offers a framework for standardized cultivation and quality control to ensure the sustainable development of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Keywords: Plant Growth Regulators, Determination method, Codonopsis Radix, Pesticide Residue, Untargeted plant metabolomics
Received: 05 Mar 2025; Accepted: 13 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhou, Ren, Wang, Su, Zhou, Huang, Yan, Zeng, Chen, ZHANG and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiaohu Chen, Chongqing Institute for Food and Drug Control, Chongqing, China
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