Abstract

Schisandra chinensis is a traditional herbal medicine that is widely spread in Korea, Japan, and China. The fruits of S. chinensis Bailon, known as omija in Korea, have traditionally been used for the treatment of coughs, fatigues, and insomnia. Up to now, there have been several reports for the identification of major lignan compounds and their quantitation in S. chinensis extracts. To the best of our knowledge, however, there is no report on the analysis of lignans in omija wine and omija cheong (sugared omija or omija sugar syrup). In the present study, seven dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans (gomisin A, gomisin B, gomisin C, gomisin N, schisandrin, deoxyschisandrin, and wuweizisu C) in omija wine and omija cheong were analyzed and quantitated using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Among seven lignans, pharmacologically active gomisin A, schisandrin, and deoxyschisandrin, which are major components in fruits of S. chinensis, were the most abundant lignans in omija wine and cheong. The content of lignan in omija wine was in the order: schisandrin > gomisin A > deoxyschisandrin > gomisin N > gomisin B > gomisin C > wuweizisu C. The concentration of deoxyschisandrin and gomisin N in omija wine was approximately 2.0- and 6.0-fold higher than for omija cheong. Additionally, this study provided a systematic identification of lignans in omija wine and cheong and indicated that the omija wine and cheong might be of value for their dietary application.