Comparative study of triterpene compounds in different processed Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf: a SIRIUS-MCnebula method

Poria cocos is a commonly utilized traditional Chinese dietary ingredient for tea, soup, porridge, baking, and herbal formulas. To compare the effects of different processing techniques on triterpenoids, six representative Poria cocos decoction pieces were selected through market analysis, and a novel analysis method was established based on the SIRIUS-MCnebula combined with UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS. 211 triterpenoids were summarized by classyfireR, and 56 were identified. The results showed significant differences in the frequency of occurrence of different types of parent nuclei and side chains, among which Lanoster-8-ene triterpenoid and m-type are the highest. The shade drying group contained richer triterpenoid components and higher content compared to the non-heat-treated groups (sun-dried, fresh-cut, sweat-treated) and the heat-treated groups (steam-treated, sweat and steam-treated). This research enhances how processing techniques influence the triterpenoid components of Poria cocos and provides scientific evidence for optimizing Poria cocos processing techniques, emphasizing the potential of AI technology in food research. • SIRIUS‑MCnebula was developed to compare the triterpenoids in crude and processed Poria cocos . • 211 triterpenoids in Poria cocos were summarized by classyfireR. • A total of 56 differentially expressed triterpenoids were identified. • The YG Poria cocos demonstrated excellent performance in terms of relative quantification.