Mass spectrometric analysis of pharmaceutical adulterants in products labeled as botanical dietary supplements or herbal remedies: a review

The increased availability and use of botanical dietary supplements and herbal remedies among consumers has been accompanied by an increased frequency of adulteration of these products with synthetic pharmaceuticals. Unscrupulous producers may add drugs and analogues of various classes, such as phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5) inhibitors, weight loss, hypoglycemic, antihypertensive and anti-inflammatory agents, or anabolic steroids, to develop or intensify biological effects of dietary supplements or herbal remedies. The presence of such adulterated products in the marketplace is a worldwide problem and their consumption poses health risks to consumers. Analytical methods that allow rapid and reliable testing of dietary supplements for the presence of synthetic drugs are needed to address such fraudulent practices. Mass spectrometry (MS) and hyphenated techniques such as liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) have become primary tools in this endeavor. The present review critically assesses the role and summarizes the applications of MS in the analysis of pharmaceutical adulterants in botanical dietary supplements and herbal remedies. The uses of MS techniques in detection, confirmation, and quantification of known pharmaceutical adulterants as well as in screening for and structure elucidation of unexpected adulterants and novel designer drugs are discussed.     

Targeted and nontargeted screening and identification of 50 antihypertensive adulterants in dietary supplements and herbal medicines using quadrupole–orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry with compound database

In the present work, a novel database of drug compounds and a rapid screening method based on ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution orbitrap mass spectrometry were developed and applied in the screening and identification of targeted and nontargeted antihypertensive adulterants in dietary supplements and herbal medicines. The established screening database includes retention time, exact mass, fragments, isotopic pattern, and MS² spectra library of the target compounds and thus provides automated search and identification of the targets with a single injection. The nontargeted compounds in the samples are identified through the full MS scan and MS² data by using the Chemspider database and the data analysis in XCalibur, MassFrontier and TraceFinder software. In addition, this method possesses excellent quantitative capacity. The novel approach was applied to 65 batches of samples that are claimed as “all‐natural” products having the antihypertensive function, among which nine batches were found to be positive. Multiple targeted and nontargeted antihypertensive adulterants were detected at levels ranging from 2.8 to 27.9 mg/g. The novel database and screening method demonstrated herein will be promising and powerful tools for rapid screening of antihypertensive adulterants in dietary supplements and herbal medicines.     

高效液相色谱-四极杆/静电场轨道阱高分辨率质谱法快速筛查中成药和保健食品中非法添加的42种化学药物

建立了高效液相色谱-四极杆/静电场轨道阱高分辨率质谱法快速筛查中成药和保健品中非法添加化学药物的方法。中成药和保健品样品,经提取溶剂提取,以12000 r/min离心后进行质谱分析。采用Phe-nomenex C18色谱柱(100 mm×4.6 mm,2.6μm)进行分离,以乙腈和0.1%甲酸溶液作为流动相,进行梯度洗脱。质谱采用正离子和负离子同时扫描,Fullms-dd-MS2模式进行分析。在所建立的色谱条件下,42种化学药物能够得到较好分离,在线性范围内线性关系良好,相关系数均大于0.99。通过加标验证,在20,50和100 ng/g加标水平下,所有分析物的平均回收率为69.3%~105.2%,相对标准偏差(RSD)小于8.9%。运用本方法对31种保健品和中成药进行快速筛查,发现其中3种添加了盐酸二甲双胍,1种添加了西地那非,1种添加了羟基莫豪西地那非。本方法样品处理过程简单,分析时间短,准确可靠,灵敏度高。适用于中成药和保健品中非法添加化学药品的定性与定量检测,可用于非法添加药物的筛查。     

Orbitrap高分辨质谱用于保健食品中15种非法添加减肥类药物的筛查鉴定

建立了筛查保健食品中非法添加的15种减肥类化合物的液相色谱-Orbitrap高分辨质谱联用法和TraceFinder筛查数据库。样品以甲醇为提取溶剂，上清液过滤后直接进行液相色谱-质谱联用分析。质谱采用Full MS/dd-MS²扫描模式，正负离子同时检测。将采集的数据文件导入TraceFinder筛查软件，利用软件构建了化合物数据库及筛查方法进行快速、自动、高精度筛查，确定样品中是否违法添加了减肥类药物，并对阳性样品进行定量分析。方法学验证结果表明，所有化合物均显示出优异的线性关系，标准曲线回归系数（r）均大于0.998，回收率范围为79.7%~95.4%，精密度在3.3%~8.7%之间。应用该方法对29批保健食品进行了测定，在6批阳性样品中检出了4种化合物。该方法可实现自动、高精度筛查鉴定，为打击非法添加提供了新的手段。     

Simultaneous determination of anti‐diabetes/anti‐obesity drugs by LC/PDA,and targeted analysis of sibutramine analog in dietary supplements by LC/MS/MS

The safety of dietary supplements is questionable as there have been occasional reports of products contaminated with illegal adulterants. The present study was carried out to develop trustworthy methodologies to screen for six anti‐diabetic drugs (phenformin, rosiglitazone, glipizide, glimepiride, glybenclamide and gliclazide) and six anti‐obesity drugs (ephedrine, fenfluramine, T3, T4, fluoxetine and sibutramine) in dietary supplements. A simultaneous determination method of the 12 drugs by liquid chromatography coupled with a photodiode array (LC/PDA) was established and was validated for linearity (r² > 0.99), precision (RSD <13.3%), recoveries (88.8–115.9%) and reproducibility. Sibutramine and its analogs, N‐desmethylsibutramine, were subject to further investigation by LC/MS/MS because they were one of the major illegal adulterants. Our proposed method to monitor illegal drug adulterations in dietary supplements using LC/PDA is a simple and reliable, and therefore applicable to routine drug‐adulteration screening. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Single-laboratory validated method for determination of nordihydroguaiaretic acid in chaparral-containing dietary supplements

Nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) occurs naturally in chaparral (Larrea tridentate Coville), a plant which commonly grows in the Southwest United States and has been used for medicinal purposes by Native Americans indigenous to that region. In addition to its traditional use as a tea, manufacturers of dietary supplements have marketed chaparral-containing products in a variety of formulations. Because of the hepatotoxicity of NDGA, and its occurrence in regulated products, we have developed a method for the determination of NDGA in dietary supplements and have tested this method in several dietary supplement formulations. Products were extracted with 80% methanol, filtered, and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. NDGA was detected and determined with both a diode array detector and negative-ion electrospray. Fragmentation in the triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer was obtained by collisional activation of the [M-H](-) ion. Collisional activation produced sufficient fragmentation to provide unambiguous identification. Lack of a stable isotope labeled internal standard has led us to compare quantitations based on UV detection with quantitations based on tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Presence of NDGA was confirmed in several dietary supplement products. Quantitative results from the 2 detection methods were comparable for most products. The limit of quantitation using MS/MS was lower and fewer interferences were observed, although UV detection provided better linearity.     

A rapid and reliable UPLC-MS/MS method for the identification and quantification of fourteen synthetic anti-diabetic drugs in adulterated Chinese proprietary medicines and dietary supplements

An ultraperformance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC‐MS/MS) method was developed for simultaneous qualitative and quantitative analysis of 14 synthetic anti‐diabetic drugs in adulterated Chinese proprietary medicines (CPMs) and dietary supplements. The samples were prepared by ultrasonic extraction with methanol and separated on a C₁₈ column with mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and water (both containing 0.10% formic acid). Gradient elution was applied with a flow rate of 0.20 mL/min. Two transitions from protonated molecules were monitored for each synthetic anti‐diabetic drug in positive mode of electrospray ionization (ESI). The two transitions, the peak area ratio of the two transitions and the retention time were used for identification. The more intensive transition was used for quantification. The analysis time was 6 min per sample. Satisfactory linear relationships were estimated between the peak area and the concentration with correlation coefficients higher than 0.995. The limit of detection ranged from 0.03 to 5.45 ng/mL. The relative standard deviation of intra‐day precision was below 7.6%, the RSD of inter‐day precision was below 15% and the relative error of accuracy was between –10 and 7.8%. The proposed method is rapid, selective, reliable and was successfully applied to the analysis of 30 real samples of 22 CPMs and eight dietary supplements from the local market in China. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rapid screening test for adulteration in raw materials of dietary supplements

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance (ATR) sampling was evaluated for use in screening for adulteration in raw materials used in the formulation and manufacture of dietary supplements. ATR requires minimal-to-no sample preparation and the method runs in less than ten minutes, providing a robust, rapid screening test for a variety of possible adulterants in the raw materials of dietary supplements. Spectral comparison methods targeting structural similarities of known adulterants were developed. In this study, FTIR-ATR was used to detect the presence of known adulterants intentionally spiked into dietary ingredients, including erectile dysfunction drugs, steroids, weight loss drugs and Melamine.     

Rapid identification of traditional Chinese herbal medicine by direct analysis in real time (DART) mass spectrometry

Direct analysis in real time-mass spectrometry (DART-MS) was employed as a novel fast method to identify traditional Chinese herbal medicine (TCHM). In order to obtain high quality mass spectra, the ionization temperature was optimized for every kind of sample. With minimal or no sample pretreatment, major TCHM components, including alkaloids, flavonoids and some ginsenosides, were directly detected within several seconds, while thirteen ginsenosides need derivatization to get good mass spectra. Pseudoginsenoside F11, compound K, protopanaxatriol (PPT) and protopanaxadiol (PPD), for the first time were detected without derivatization. Among five of eight tested Chinese herbal medicines, Rhizoma Corydalis, Bulbus Fritillariae Thunbergii, Arecae Semen, Ramulus Uncariae Cum Uncis and Scutellariae Radix, were first time identified by DART-MS. In addition, the ionization mechanisms of major herbal components, alkaloids, flavonoids and ginsenosides, were discussed in detail. Our results demonstrated that DART-MS could provide a rapid, reliable and environmental friendly method for the rapid identification of TCHM, and may be applicable to other plants.     

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%.     

Analysis of synthetic chemical drugs in adulterated Chinese medicines by capillary electrophoresis/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Sixteen synthetic chemical drugs, often found in adulterated Chinese medicines, were studied by capillary electrophoresis/UV absorbance (CE/UV) and capillary electrophoresis/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (CE/ESI-MS). Only nine peaks were detected with CZE/UV, but on-line CZE/MS provided clear identification for most compounds. For a real sample of a Chinese medicinal preparation, a few adulterants were identified by their migration times and protonated molecular ions. For coeluting compounds, more reliable identification was achieved by MS/MS in selected reaction monitoring mode. Micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) provided better separation than capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE), and, under optimal conditions, fourteen peaks were detected using UV detection. In ESI, the interference of SDS was less severe in positive ion mode than in negative ion mode. Up to 20 mM SDS could be used in direct coupling of MEKC with ESI-MS if the mass spectrometer was operated in positive ion mode. Because of better resolution in MEKC, adulterants can be identified without the use of MS/MS.     

Simultaneous Determination of Isoquinoline Alkaloids in Medicinal Asiatic Plants by Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry with Principal Component Analysis

Isoquinoline alkaloids (papaverine, noscapine, berberine, emetine, and quinine) were determined in medicinal plants and herbs used in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry detection (LC-MS/MS). The analyzed alkaloids were separated at gradient conditions using methanol and 2% acetic acid within 12?min. The validated method was successfully applied for 17 herbal samples: Ashwagandha, Astragalus membranaceus, Emblica officinalis, Mucuna pruriens, Pueraria lobata, Ocimum sanctum, Rehmannia glutinosa, Schisandra sinensis, Terminalia arjuna, Terminalia chebula, and dietary supplements. The highest concentration of studied alkaloids was observed for berberine in Puearia lobata (6.68?±?0.62?mg 100?g^?1 d.m.), while the lowest value was obtained for noscapine in a dietary supplement containing Terminalia arjuna (0.09?±?0.01?mg 100?g^?1 d.m.). Principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and one-way ANOVA tests were also performed. The results indicate the need to control plant materials and dietary supplements in terms of the content of alkaloids and toxic components.     

实时直接分析-串联质谱法测定葡萄酒中赭曲霉毒素A

建立了葡萄酒中赭曲霉毒素A的实时直接分析-串联质谱(DART-MS/MS)方法。前处理采用乙酸乙酯提取,二甲基十八碳硅烷粉(ODS)粉分散固相萃取净化,采用DART-MS/MS检测,同位素稀释内标法定量。结果表明:在1.0、2.0、10μg/kg 3个加标水平下,回收率为88.7%~105.7%,RSD为8.5%~12.8%,定量限为0.5μg/kg。该方法具有简单、快速、灵敏度高等特点,能满足葡萄酒中赭曲霉毒素A检测的要求。     

Targeted analysis of multiple pharmaceuticals,plant toxins and other secondary metabolites in herbal dietary supplements by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole-orbital ion trap mass spectrometry

In this study, an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole-orbital ion trap mass spectrometry (UHPLC–Q-orbitrap MS) method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of 96 pharmaceuticals, plant toxins, and other plant secondary metabolites in herbal dietary supplements. Target analytes were extracted from samples using the QuEChERS (quick easy cheap effective rugged safe) procedure. The instrument was operated in full MS–data dependent tandem mass spectrometry (full MS–dd-MS/MS) acquisition mode which enabled collection of quantitative high resolution (HR) full mass spectral data and confirmatory HR MS/MS data in a single run. The method provided excellent selectivity in both full MS and dd-MS/MS mode. Under optimized collision energy settings, product ion spectra containing both precursor and two or more product ions were obtained for most of the analytes. Limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs) for the method differed significantly for the examined matrices. LODs ≤ 10 μg kg⁻¹ and LOQs ≤ 50 μg kg⁻¹ were obtained for 48 to 81% of target compounds across five different matrices. With the exception of highly polar analytes, the optimized QuEChERS extraction procedure provided acceptable recoveries in the range 70%–120%. The precision of the method, characterized as the relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 5), was ≤25% and ≤18% at spiking concentrations of 50 μg kg⁻¹ and 500 μg kg⁻¹, respectively. Because of variations in matrix effects in extracts of herbal dietary supplements that differed in composition, the method of standard additions and an approach based on dilution of matrix components followed by quantification using solvent standards were applied for quantification. The procedure was used to examine commercial dietary supplements for the 96 analytes of interest. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an integrated analysis and quantification of this wide range of compounds.     

超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法同时测定保健食品中丙磺舒、别嘌醇和苯溴马隆

建立了基于QuEChERS前处理的超高效液相色谱-串联质谱（UPLC-MS/MS）同时测定抗痛风类保健食品中别嘌醇、丙磺舒和苯溴马隆3种药物的检测方法。样品经含0.1%（v/v）氨水的乙腈溶液超声提取后，采用乙二胺-N-丙基硅烷（PSA）和十八烷基键合硅胶（C₁₈）吸附剂净化，用C₁₈色谱柱进行分离，0.1%（v/v）甲酸水溶液和甲醇为流动相进行梯度洗脱，采用电喷雾电离源、正负离子切换模式和多反应监测（MRM）模式检测。结果表明，别嘌醇、丙磺舒和苯溴马隆的检出限分别为5、25和25 μg/kg，定量限分别为17、80和80 μg/kg。抗痛风类保健食品中3种药物的平均加标回收率为76.8%~116.6%，相对标准偏差（RSD）为2.7%~14.6%。应用该法对68批次保健食品进行分析，其中1批次样品检出别嘌醇药物。该法操作简单，灵敏度高，可用于抗痛风类保健食品中别嘌醇、丙磺舒和苯溴马隆的测定。     

Simultaneous determination of yohimbine,sildenafil, vardenafil and tadalafil in dietary supplements using high‐performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry

A simple and sensitive method was developed for determination of illegal adulterants (yohimbine, sildenafil, vardenafil and tadalafil) in dietary supplements by HPLC‐MS/MS. The separation was achieved on a C₁₈ column with the mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and 0.1% acetic acid aqueous solution with a gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. The analytes were quantified and identified by two characteristic transitions using the multiple‐reaction monitoring mode. The recoveries of the analytes ranged from 77.5 to 109.3% with the RSD less than 8.1% (n=6). The method has been successfully applied to screen illegal adulterations of natural dietary supplements.     

Perchlorate and chlorate in dietary supplements and flavor enhancing ingredients

The oxyhalide anions perchlorate and chlorate were measured in a series of dietary (vitamin and mineral) supplements and flavor enhancing ingredients collected from various commercial vendors in two large US cities. Analyses were conducted using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The limit of detection was based on the mass of supplements and ingredients extracted and ranged from 2 to 15 ng/g for perchlorate and 4 to 30 ng/g for chlorate. Perchlorate and chlorate were detected in 20 and 26, respectively, of the 31 dietary supplements tested, with concentrations ranging from non-detectable to as high as 2400 and 10,300 ng/g, respectively. Based upon the recommended dose provided by each manufacturer for different supplements, the daily oral dose of perchlorate and chlorate could be as high as 18 and 20 μg/day, respectively. The highest level of perchlorate was found in a supplement recommended for pregnant women as a prenatal nutritional supplement. Of the 31 dietary supplements investigated, 12 were specifically marketed for pregnant women and children. Perchlorate and chlorate were also detectable in four products marketed for the enhancement of food flavor. Perchlorate is found naturally in some parts of the world, is present in some natural fertilizers, is used as an oxidizer in solid fuel engines, and has been used at therapeutic doses in humans to treat overactive thyroid glands. Perchlorate has been detected in drinking water, dairy products, some produce and grains, and human breast milk. This is the first report of perchlorate measured in over-the-counter dietary supplements and flavor enhancing ingredients.     

实时直接分析-串联质谱法快速筛查火锅底料、牛肉面汤及调味料中罂粟壳生物碱

建立了采用实时直接分析-串联质谱(DART-MS/MS)对火锅底料、牛肉面汤及调味料中5种非法添加的罂粟壳生物碱进行快速筛查的方法。样品经乙腈提取净化后,在离子化温度为300℃、栅极电压为150 V、进样速率为0.8 m m/s的DART离子源正离子模式条件下进样,以电喷雾离子源正离子多反应监测(MRM)模式进行检测,实现了样品经简单预处理后使用DART-MS/MS进行检测的新方法。该方法简便、快速,能满足大批量非法添加样品的快速筛查分析要求。     

Structural determination of sildenafil and its analogues in dietary supplements by fast‐atom bombardment collision‐induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry

Sildenafil and its analogues, which are used as illegal additives in several dietary supplements, were isolated by liquid‐liquid extraction and column chromatography and analyzed by fast‐atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FAB‐MS). Structures of sildenafil and its derivatives were elucidated by FAB‐tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) with exact mass measurement in the positive‐ion mode. To find structurally diagnostic ions for the sildenafil analogues, authentic sildenafil was preferentially analyzed by high‐energy collision‐induced dissociation (CID)‐MS/MS. The CID‐MS/MS spectra of [M+H]⁺ precursor ions resulted in the formation of numerous characteristic ions via a series of dissociative processes. The product ions formed by CID provided important information on the modification of the piperazine ring, the phenylsulfonyl group and the pyrazolopyrimidine moiety of sildenafil. By interpreting their MS/MS spectra, the chemical structures of sildenafil analogues isolated from dietary supplements could be elucidated and fragmentation patterns were proposed. To clearly identify the sidenafil derivatives in dietary supplements, some of the derivatives such as acetildenafil, homosildenafil and hydroxyhomosildenafil which are not commercially available were synthesized and compared with their MS/MS spectra. In addition, high‐resolution mass measurements were conducted to obtain the elemental compositions of sildenafil and its analogues. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rapid direct analysis in real time (DART) mass spectrometric detection of juvenile hormone III and its terpene precursors

Direct analysis in real time (DART) is a plasma-based ambient ionization technique that enables rapid ionization of small molecules with high sample throughput. In this work, DART was coupled to an orthogonal (oa) time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer and the system was optimized for analyzing a vital hormonal regulator in insects, juvenile hormone (JH) III and its terpene precursors, namely, farnesol, farnesoic acid, and methyl farnesoate. Optimization experiments were planned using design of experiments (DOE) full factorial models to identify the most significant DART variables contributing to JH III analysis sensitivity by DART-TOF mass spectrometry (MS). The optimized DART-TOF MS method had femtomole to sub-picomole detection limits for terpene standards, along with mass accuracies below 5 ppm. Finally, the possibility of distinguishing between two farnesol isomers by in-source-collision-induced dissociation (CID) in the first differentially pumped region of the oaTOF mass spectrometer was investigated. DART-MS enabled high-throughput, sensitive analysis with acquisition times ranging from 30 s to a minute. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the application of DART-MS to the detection and identification of volatile or semi-volatile insect terpenoids, and on the use of DOE approaches to optimize DART-MS analytical procedures.