Profiling and analysis of multiple constituents in Crataegi Fructus before and after processing by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

A rapid and efficient analytical method for identifying the chemical components in CF before and after processing was successfully established. We show how the changes in the chemical constituents in processed CF could be investigated using multivariate statistical analysis methods, and thus facilitate understanding of the processing mechanism of CF.