Advances in Mass Spectrometric-Based Technologies and Strategies for the Analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine

The composition of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is complex, and analysis of those chemical compositions is vital for the research of TCM. Mass spectrometric-based technologies, especially ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS), are considered to be powerful techniques with the advantages of high sensitivity, high selectivity, rapidity, and high resolution. In recent years, approaches of MS data acquisition and data post-processing strategies were continuously evolving, including MSE, SWATH, mass spectral trees similarity filter (MTSF), and molecular networking (MN), facilitating the exploration and identification of TCM components. In this paper, the applications of mass spectrometric-based technologies and strategies for the analysis of TCM components would be discussed as well as a brief outlook on the perspectives of such technologies and strategies.