Development and validation of a gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric method for simultaneous identification and quantification of marker compounds including bilobalide,ginkgolides and flavonoids in Ginkgo biloba L. extract and pharmaceutical preparations

A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of seven major chemical markers (bilobalide, ginkgolides A, B, C, kaempferol, quercetin and isorhamnetin) in phytopharmaceuticals of Ginkgo biloba L. The intra-day relative standard deviations (RSD) and inter-day RSD's were based on the analysis of the standardized Ginkgo biloba L. extract on the same day and on the following 3 consecutive days. The intra-day RSD's ranged from 1.21% (bilobalide) to 6.20% (kaempferol). The inter-day RSD's ranged from 2.10% (bilobalide) to 10.42% (isorhamnetin). Mean recoveries ranged from a low of 63.0 +/- 5.3% (isorhamnetin) to a maximum of 103.5 +/- 6.0% (ginkgolide A). Calibration curves were linear in ranges between 2.73 and 36.36 microg/ml for the markers. Limits of detection ranged from a low of 0.5 microg/ml (bilobalide) to a high of 2.5 microg/ml (quercetin). The limits of quantitation were a low of 1.1 microg/ml (gingkolides A, B, C) to a high of 7.5 microg/ml (kaempferol). The method was applied to a standard extract (>6% total terpenoids and >24% total flavonoids) and six ginkgo capsule phytopharmaceuticals.     

Determination of active ingredients of Rhododendron dauricum L. by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection

High-performance capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection was employed to analyse active ingredients of Rhododendron dauricum L., an important crude herb frequently used in Chinese medicines. Farrerol, quercetin, syringic acid, vanillic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, protocatechuic acid are major important active ingredients. Operated in a wall-jet configuration, a 300-microm diameter carbon-disk electrode was used as the working electrode, which exhibits a good response at +950 mV (vs. saturated calomel electrodes) for six analytes. Under the optimum conditions, the analytes were baseline separated within 16 min in a borax buffer (pH 8.7). Notably, excellent linearity was obtained over two orders of magnitude with detection limits (S/N=3) ranged from 9 x 10(-7) to 3.0 x 10(-6) M for all analytes. This method was successfully used in the analysis of Rhododendron dauricum L. with relatively simple extraction procedures, and the assay results were satisfactory.     

Determination of liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin in Glycyrrhiza uralensis and its medicinal preparations by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection

A simple, reliable, reproducible and sensitive method, based on capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection (ED), for the determination of liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin in Glycyrrhiza uralensis and its medicinal preparations was described. Operated in a wall-jet configuration, a 300 microm diameter carbon-disk electrode was used as the working electrode, which exhibits good responses at + 1000 mV (versus SCE) for the two analytes. Under the optimum conditions, the analytes were base-line separated within 8 min, and excellent linearity was obtained in the concentration range from 5.0 x 10(-4) to 1.0 x 10(-6) mol/l. The detection limit (S/N = 3) was 4.7 x 10(-7) and 2.9 x 10(-7) mol/l for liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin, respectively. This work provides a useful method for the analysis of traditional Chinese medicines.     

Determination of active components of Ginkgo biloba in human urine by capillary high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry with on-line column-switching purification

Ginkgo biloba is one of the most popular herbal nutritional supplements, with terpene lactones and flavonoids being the two major active components. An on-line purification high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) method was successfully developed for the quantitative determination of flavonoids and terpene lactones excreted in human urine after ingesting the herbal supplement. Satisfactory separation was obtained using a C18 capillary column made in-house with sample clean-up and pre-concentration achieved using a C18 pre-column with column switching. High selectivity and limits of detection of 1-18 ng/mL were achieved using a selected ion monitoring (SIM) scan in negative ion mode; the on-line solid-phase extraction (SPE) recovery of the active components in Ginkgo biloba determined in this study was greater than 75%.     

Capillary electrophoresis/electrochemical detection system with on-line deoxygenation

A capillary electrophoresis (CE)/electrochemical detection system with on-line deoxygenation was developed, consisting of a deoxygenation injector, a deoxygenation protector, and an electrochemical detection cell. When the system was utilized for 60 min, the steady-state current of oxygen detected could be dropped to 3% of the original value for the gold/mercury amalgam electrode and to 8% of the original value for the gold electrode, and the limit of detection could be decreased two orders of magnitude for the reducible analytes such as TI+ (from 3.1 x 10-5 mol/L to 8.0 x 10-7 mol/L) and metronidazole (from 3.8 x 10-5 mol/L to 4.0 x 10-7 mol/L).     

Voltammetric determination of mifepristone at a DNA-modified carbon paste electrode

A new strategy for the preparation of a DNA-modified carbon paste electrode is developed. It is found that the anodic response of mifepristone is greatly enhanced at the dsDNA-modified carbon paste electrode comparing with that obtained at the bare electrode, while the response at a ssDNA-modified electrode is similar to bare electrode. So the dsDNA-modified electrode is employed as a sensitive biosensor for the detection of mifepristone. A linear dependence of the peak currents on the concentration is observed in the range 2.0 x 10(-7) approximately 2.0 x 10(6) mol/L, with a detection limit of 1.0 x 10(-7) mol/L. The relative standard deviation is 4.3% for six successive determinations of 1.0 x 10(6) mol/L mifepristone. The determination of mifepristone tablets is carried out and satisfactory results are obtained.     

Platinum particles-modified electrode for HPLC with pulsed amperometric detection of thiols in rat striatum

A new chemically modified electrode based on the immobilization of Pt particles is fabricated and exhibits electrocatalytic oxidation for L-cysteine (L-Cys), glutathione (GSH) and penicillamine (PEN) with relatively high sensitivity. It is also adaptable to HPLC for pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) of these thiols. PAD largely improves the detection sensitivity because the alternated polarizations can effectively clean and reactivate the electrode surface. It is shown that the peak currents of L-Cys, GSH and PEN are linear to their concentrations, with the calculated detection limit of 1.1 x 10(-7), 1.8 x 10(-7) and 3.8 x 10(-7) mol L(-1), respectively (S/N = 3). The method has been successfully applied to assess the contents of L-Cys and GSH in rat striatal microdialysates. The average contents of the two analytes in rat striatum are 2.6 x 10(-6) and 2.8 x 10(-6) mol L(-1), respectively.     

Determination of hesperidin and synephrine in Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection

A method based on capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection (CE-ED) has been developed for the determination of hesperidin (HP) and synephrine (SP) in the Chinese traditional herbal drug, Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae, the dried rind of the ripe fruits of Citrus reticulata Blanco (mandarin orange). The effects of some important factors such as the acidity and concentration of running buffer, separation voltage, and detection potential were investigated to determine the optimum conditions. The working electrode was a 300 microm diameter carbon disc electrode positioned opposite the outlet of the capillary. Both analytes could be well separated within 5 min in a 40 cm long capillary at a separation voltage of 12 kV in 50 mmol L(-1) borate buffer (pH 9.0). Excellent linearity was observed for the dependence of peak current on analyte concentration in the range from 2.5 x 10(-6) to 1.0 x 10(-3) mol L(-1) for SP and from 5.0 x 10(-6) to 1.0 x 10(-3) mol L(-1) for HP. The detection limits (S/N=3) for SP and HP were 4.96 x 10(-7) mol L(-1) and 6.54 x 10(-7) mol L(-1), respectively. This method has been successfully applied for the analysis of real samples, with satisfactory results.     

Simultaneous square-wave voltammetric determination of aspartame and cyclamate using a boron-doped diamond electrode

A simple and highly selective electrochemical method was developed for the simultaneous determination of aspartame and cyclamate in dietary products at a boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode. In square-wave voltammetric (SWV) measurements, the BDD electrode was able to separate the oxidation peak potentials of aspartame and cyclamate present in binary mixtures by about 400 mV. The detection limit for aspartame in the presence of 3.0x10(-4) mol L(-1) cyclamate was 4.7x10(-7) mol L(-1), and the detection limit for cyclamate in the presence of 1.0x10(-4) mol L(-1) aspartame was 4.2x10(-6) mol L(-1). When simultaneously changing the concentration of both aspartame and cyclamate in a 0.5 mol L(-1) sulfuric acid solution, the corresponding detection limits were 3.5x10(-7) and 4.5x10(-6) mol L(-1), respectively. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) obtained was 1.3% for the 1.0x10(-4) mol L(-1) aspartame solution (n=5) and 1.1% for the 3.0x10(-3) mol L(-1) cyclamate solution. The proposed method was successfully applied in the determination of aspartame in several dietary products with results similar to those obtained using an HPLC method at 95% confidence level.     

Micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography for fast separation and sensitive determination of melatonin and related indoleamines using end-column amperometric detection

MEKC was used in conjunction with end-column amperometric detection (AD) at a carbon disc electrode (0.3 mm diameter) for the selective and sensitive determination of melatonin and its five related indoleamines including its precursors and metabolites in the pineal gland. The introduction of a sample stacking technique in injection and the buffer additive SDS in the buffer solution system provided the rapid and sensitive analysis. Optimal buffer conditions (10 mmol/L phosphate containing 20 mmol/L SDS, pH 7.2), detection potential (+1.0 V vs. Ag/AgCl), and electrokinetic injection 10 s with the separation voltage of 24 kV were employed to achieve the baseline separation of six pineal hormones within 15 min. The peak currents and the analyte concentrations have a good linear relationship over the range of 6.0 x 10(-8) 6.0 x 10(-5 )mol/L. The detection limits for six pineal hormones by AD are 9.7 to 41.8 nmol/L (equal to 2.0 to 9.7 ng/mL) (S/N = 3), respectively. It is proved to provide about 30- to 250-fold improvement over UV, and be comparable with the sensitive fluorescence detection, which needs pre-column derivatization. The proposed method has been applied for analysis of melatonin and related indoleamines in rat pineal glands. A very simple sample pretreatment procedure, merely involving the homogenization step in perchloric acid, was enough to achieve recoveries in the range of 71 to 127% for all the analytes in the pineal gland.     

Simultaneous determination of flavonoids and anthraquinones in chrysanthemum by capillary electrophoresis with amperometry detection

<正>A high-performance capillary electrophoresis with amperometry detection method(CE-AD) has been developed for the analysis of flavonoids and anthraquinones(emodin,kaempferol,apigenin,luteolin and rhein) in chrysanthemum.Under optimum conditions,these five analytes were base-line separated within 17 min using a borate-phosphate running buffer(1.5×10~(-2) mol/L borate-3×10~(-2) mol/L phosphate running buffer,pH 9.0) at a working potential of +0.90 V(vs.SCE) and a separation voltage of 19 kV.The linear relationship between concentration and current response was obtained with detection limits(S/N = 3) ranging from 1.0×10~(-7) to 2.1×10~(-7) g/mL for all analytes.This proposed method was successfully used in the analysis of four kinds of chrysanthemum with relatively simple extraction procedures,the assay results were satisfactory.     

中药菟丝子中生物活性成分的毛细管电泳-电化学检测

采用毛细管电泳-电化学检测法(CE-ECD)同时测定了菟丝子中芦丁、金丝桃甙、山柰酚、对香豆酸和槲皮素等5种主要生物活性成分的含量,考察了运行缓冲液酸度和浓度、分离电压、氧化电位和进样时间等实验参数对分离检测的影响。在最佳实验条件下,以直径300 μm的碳圆盘电极为工作电极,检测电位为+950 mV(vs. 参比电极),以50 mmol/L的硼砂缓冲溶液(pH 9.0)为运行缓冲液,上述各组分在19 min内能完全分离。芦丁、金丝桃甙、山柰酚、对香豆酸和槲皮素在两个数量级的范围内呈良好线性关系,检测下限(按S/N=3计) 分别为1.93×10-5,3.55×10-4,3.65×10-5,1.73×10-5和1.46×10-4 g/L。该法已成功地应用于菟丝子中活性成分的分离检测,结果令人满意。     

Determination of antioxidants in cosmetics by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with electrochemical detection

A new and efficient method for the determination of antioxidants [Propyl gallate (PG), tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)] in cosmetics has been established by using micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with electrochemical detection (MECC-ED). Under the optimum conditions of the method, all analytes were successfully separated within 13 min at the separation voltage of 18 kV in a 20 mmol/L borate running buffer (pH 7.4) containing 25 mmol/L sodium dodecyl sulfate. The excellent linearity was obtained in the concentration range from 5.0 x 10(-4) to 2.0 x 10(-6) mol/L and the detection limits (S/N = 3) of PG, TBHQ, BHA, and BHT range from 3 x 10(-7) to 3 x 10(-6) mol/L.     

Capillary Electrophoresis Chemiluminescence for the Analysis of Flavonoids in Pharmaceuticals and Human Plasma

A capillary electrophoresis (CE)-chemiluminescence (CL) method has been developed for the determination of the pharmacologically active flavonoids, including rutin and quercetin in pharmaceuticals and human plasma containing Ginkgo biloba leaves extract (EGb). The separation was conducted in borate buffer and luminol. The post-column CL reagent was K₃Fe(CN)₆ in NaOH medium. Rutin and quercetin were baseline separated within 10 min with detection limits of 1.0 and 5.0 nM, respectively. The maximum intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations (RSD) of migration time of analytes were <3.5 %. Moreover, the high selectivity of the CL detection and the high-separation efficiency of CE render the method the potential of quick analyzing the pharmacologically active substances in complex matrix with satisfactory results.

     

Capillary Electrophoresis Chemiluminescence for the Analysis of Flavonoids in Pharmaceuticals and Human Plasma

A capillary electrophoresis (CE)-chemiluminescence (CL) method has been developed for the determination of the pharmacologically active flavonoids, including rutin and quercetin in pharmaceuticals and human plasma containing Ginkgo biloba leaves extract (EGb). The separation was conducted in borate buffer and luminol. The post-column CL reagent was K₃Fe(CN)₆ in NaOH medium. Rutin and quercetin were baseline separated within 10 min with detection limits of 1.0 and 5.0 nM, respectively. The maximum intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations (RSD) of migration time of analytes were <3.5 %. Moreover, the high selectivity of the CL detection and the high-separation efficiency of CE render the method the potential of quick analyzing the pharmacologically active substances in complex matrix with satisfactory results.     

Quality control of flavonoids in Ginkgo biloba leaves by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection and on-line radical scavenging activity detection

Flavonoids in plants used for the treatment of various cardiovascular, cancer diseases have been reported to possess potential protective effects against oxidative injury. Ginkgo biloba leaves, known for their antioxidant activity, were chosen for this study. In this paper, 12 flavonoids in G. biloba leaves were identified by HPLC-diode array detection (DAD)-electrospray ionization MS. HPLC-DAD coupled with chemiluminescence detection was used to determine free radical scavenging activity of flavonoids. It was found that the flavonol glycosides could markedly inhibit the luminescent signal, which indicated that they are mainly responsible for the antioxidant activities of G. biloba leaves. Total antioxidant activity of these flavonoids was used to evaluate the differences of G. biloba leaves collected in 13 habitats. The combination of chemical and activity analysis can provide a valid method to quantify the bioactive components in G. biloba leaves, and this may be a more rational approach to the quality assessment of G. biloba leaves.     

New technique for capillary electrophoresis directly coupled with end-column electrochemiluminescence detection

A new end-column electrochemiluminescence (ECL) detection technique coupling to capillary electrophoresis (CE) is characterized. A 300 microm diameter Pt working electrode was used to directly couple with a 75 microm inner diameter separation capillary without an electric field decoupler. The hydrodynamic cyclic voltammogram (CV) of Ru(bpy) 3 2+ showed that electrophoretic current did not affect the ECL reaction. The presence of high-voltage (HV) field only resulted in the shift of the ECL detection potential. The distance of capillary to electrode was an important parameter for optimizing detection performance as it determined the characteristics of mass transport toward the electrode and the actual concentration of Ru(bpy) 3 2+ in the detection region. The optimum distance of capillary to electrode was decided by the inner diameter of the capillary, too. For a 75 microm capillary, the working electrode should be placed away from the capillary outlet at a distance within the range of 220-260 microm. The effects of pH value of ECL solution and molecular structure of analytes on peak height and theoretical plate numbers were discussed. Using the 75 microm capillary, under the optimum conditions, the method provided a linear range for tripropylamine (TPA) between 1 x 10(-10) and 1 x 10(-5) mol/L with correlation coefficient of 0.998. The detection limit (signal-to-noise ratio S/N = 3) was 5.0 x 10(-11) mol/L. The relative standard deviation in peak height for eight consecutive injections was 5.6%. By this new technique lidocaine spiked in a urine sample was determined. The method exhibited the linear range for lidocaine from 5.0 x 10(-8) to 1.0 x 10(-5) mol/L with correlation efficient of 0.998. The limit of detection (S/N = 3) was 2.0 x 10(-8) mol/L.     

Simultaneous determination of phytoestrogens in different medicinal parts of Sophora japonica L. by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection

A high-performance capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection (CE-ED) method has been developed for the determination of phytoestrogens from the pericarps and seeds of Sophora japonica L. in this work. Genistin, genistein, rutin, kaempferol and quercetin are important bioactive constituents in these plants. The effects of several factors such as the acidity and concentration of running buffer, the separation voltage, the applied potential and the injection time on the CE-ED procedure were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, the five analytes could be well separated within 18 min in a 75 cm length capillary (i.d. 25 microm) at the separation voltage of 16 kV in a 50 mmol L(-1) borax running buffer (pH 9.0). A 300 microm diameter carbon disk electrode was used as the working electrode positioned carefully opposite the outlet of the capillary in a wall-jet configuration at the potential of +950 mV (vs SCE). Detection limits (S/N = 3) ranged from 1.1 x 10(-7) to 2.8 x 10(-7) g mL(-1) for all fi ve analytes. This method was successfully used to analyse dried Flos sophorae immaturus, pericarps and seeds of dried Fructus sophorae after a relatively simple extraction procedure, and the assay results were satisfactory.     

Simultaneous determination of pharmacologically active ingredients in Rhodiola by capillary chromatography with electrochemical detection

Rhodiola, in which there are abundant pharmacologically active ingredients, is one of the functional adaptogenic agent that aid specific bodily functions to adapt to the changes and stress of life in addition to being tonic. In an attempt to qualitatively and quantitatively determine the pharmacologically active ingredients in Rhodiola, a new method based on capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection (CE-ED) has been developed. The effects of working electrode potential, pH and concentration of running buffer, separation voltage, applied potential and injection time on CE-ED were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, the analytes could be well separated within 24 min at the separation voltage of 18 kV in a 80 mmol L(-1) borax running buffer (pH 9.0). Good linear relationship was established between peak current and concentration of analytes over two orders of magnitude with detection limits (S/N=3) ranged from 3.16 x 10(-7) to 1.11 x 10(-7)g mL(-1) for all target ingredients. This proposed method has been successfully applied for the analysis of real samples, with satisfactory results.     

胶束电动毛细管色谱安培检测中药马齿苋中多巴胺和去甲肾上腺素

建立了胶束电动毛细管色谱结合电化学安培检测同时分析中药马齿苋中多巴胺和去甲肾上腺素的方法。考察了缓冲液的浓度、pH值、十二烷基硫酸钠(SDS)浓度以及工作电极电势对分离检测的影响。在优化的条件下,多巴胺和去甲肾上腺素在1.0×10-6～5 0×10-4mol/L范围内有良好线性,浓度检测限(S/N=3)分别为8 7×10-7mol/L和4 2×10-7mol/L,质量检测限分别为1 45fmol和0 41fmol。该方法组分定性可靠,不需要衍生处理,选择性好。将该法应用于中药马齿苋样品的分析,获得了较好的结果。