Abstract: To exploit the rich resources, sweet potato vines (SPV) of Xushu 18 were selected as raw materials since this kind was cultivated in China widely. The remains of the SPV after extracting polysaccharides by hot water were used to extract flavanoid by ethanol in pilot instrument. Then flavonoid from sweet potato vines (FSPV) were purified and obtained by AB-8 resin. The kinds of flavonoid aglycones in FSPV were identified by the molecular weight information from HPLC-ESI-MS. Comparing the retention time of FSPV with those of standard samples, it was determined that there are six aglycones in FSPV. They are genistein, leteolin, quercetin, formononetin, apigenin and kaempferol respetively. This is the first time to report genistein and formononetin existing in SPV.

Key words: HPLC-ESI-MS, HPLC, component analysis, flavonoids, sweet potato vines