Prevention against the adulteration of traditional Chinese medicine in an accurate way has been long exploring. Vitex trifolia fruit (VTF), as a widely used analgesic in East Asia, has frequently been found to be adulterated with five adulterants, namely Vitex cannabifolia fruit (VCF) (Fam. Verbenaceae), Vitex negundo fruit (VNF) (Fam. Verbenaceae), Piper cubeba fruit (PCF) (Fam. Lauraceae), Euphorbia lathyris seed (ELS) (Fam. Euphorbiaceae), and Vaccinium bracteatum fruit (VBF) (Fam. Ericaceae). In this study, the methods of micromorphological identification, microscopic identification, and chemical analysis were combined to distinguish VTF from its five adulterants comprehensively. As a result, the micromorphological features in terms of fruit or seed epidermis were photographed by stereomicroscopy firstly. Secondly, the microscopic characteristics of various herb powders were captured under light microscopy. Thirdly, 33 nonvolatile components and 124 volatile components in VTF were identified by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UPLC‐Orbitrap‐MS) and comprehensive two‐dimensional gas chromatography hyphenated with mass spectrometry (GC × GC–MS), respectively. Furthermore, betulinic acid, persicogenin, and the volatile 4‐(2,2,6‐trimethyl‐bicyclo[4.1.0]hept‐1‐yl)‐butan‐2‐one were screened out to be the specific markers of VTF distinctive from the adulterants. Collectively, VTF and its five adulterants were distinguished successfully by the comparison of micromorphological, microscopic characteristics, and chemical profiles.

中文翻译：

---

通过微形态、显微特征和化学特征的比较，综合鉴定荆条果实及其五种掺假物。

准确防范中药掺假，早有探索。Vitex trifoliafruit (VTF) 作为东亚广泛使用的镇痛剂，经常被发现掺有五种掺杂物，即Vitex cannabifoliafruit (VCF) (Fam. Verbenaceae) 、Vitex Negundo Fruit (VNF) (Fam. Verbenaceae) )、蒺藜果实 (PCF)（樟科）、大戟种子（ELS）（大戟科）和大红越桔水果（VBF）（杜鹃花科）。本研究结合微形态学鉴定、显微鉴定和化学分析方法，综合区分VTF与其5种掺假品。因此，首先通过立体显微镜拍摄了果实或种子表皮的微形态特征。其次，在光学显微镜下捕获了各种草药粉末的微观特征。第三，通过超高效液相色谱与 Orbitrap 质谱联用 (UPLC-Orbitrap-MS) 和综合二维气相色谱与质谱联用 (GC × GC-MS)，鉴定了 VTF 中的 33 种非挥发性成分和 124 种挥发性成分，分别。此外，桦木酸、persicogenin 和挥发性 4-(2,2,6-trimethyl-bicyclo[4.1. 0]hept-1-yl)-butan-2-one 被筛选出来作为 VTF 与掺假物不同的特异性标志物。总的来说，通过比较微形态、微观特征和化学特征，成功区分了 VTF 及其五种掺杂物。