Abstract: This research studied the qualitative analysis of sea buckthorn seed extract (SBSE), prepared from sea buckthorn seed residue by ethanol extraction and macroporous resin purification, by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadruple time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS). The bioactive components of SBSE were quantitatively determined by ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadruple mass spectrometry (UPLC-QQQ-MS). Meanwhile, the antioxidant effect of SBSE in D-galactose-induced aging mice was studied. The mice were administrated by gavage with SBSE at different dosages for 42 days. Total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) and the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and lipofuscin (LP) in liver tissue were measured. The results obtained were as follows: A total of 24 compounds were identified by UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS, 14 compounds of which were characterized by comparing with reference substances and quantitatively determined by UPLC-QQQ-MS in the negative ion multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Kaempferol and its derivatives were the most abundant constituents in SBSE ((667.94 ± 5.61) μg/mL), quercetin and its derivatives were in the middle ((204.01 ± 0.04) μg/mL), and procyanidins were the least abundant ((33.97 ± 0.49) μg/mL). The administration of SBSE to aging mice could increase the activities of GSH-Px, SOD and CAT in liver tissue. Compared with the D-galactose-induced model group, hepatic T-AOC activity in the low-dosage group was significantly increased (P < 0.01), and the levels of MDA and LP were decreased significantly by SBSE at three dosages (P < 0.01).

Key words: sea buckthorn seed residue, ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadruple time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS), ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadruple mass spectrometry (UPLC-QQQ-MS), aging model, antioxidant effect