Simultaneous determination of Ephedra sinica and Citrus aurantium var. amara alkaloids by ion-pair chromatography

Ephedra sinica (Ma Huang) preparations have recently gained a lot of attention because of serious side effects associated with their prolonged consumption. Citrus aurantium var. amara is now used as an alternative, despite the fact that similar side effects are suspected. We have developed and validated the first analytical procedure for the simultaneous determination of all major alkaloids from both species. Using the ion-pairing reagent SDS, a C-18 stationary phase (3 μm material) and a pH-gradient for elution enabled the baseline separation of six alkaloids ((±)-octopamine, (±)-synephrine, tyramine, (−)-norephedrine, (+)-pseudoephedrine and (−)-ephedrine) within less than 30 min. The method is sensitive (LOD ≤ 4.6 ng and LOQ ≤ 16.2 ng on-column), selective (l-tyrosine and l-phenylalanine, two closely related amino acids did not interfere), accurate (recovery rates of spiked samples were between 97.5 and 102.0%), repeatable (σ_rel ≤ 4.6%) and precise (intra-day variation ≤7.7%, inter-day variation ≤7.0%). Without the need of a special sample treatment different matrices (plant material, commercial products) were successfully analyzed for their alkaloid content. Dominant alkaloids were (−)-ephedrine (0.9-1.6%) and/or (±)-synephrine (0.1-3.0%). Whether a product contained Ephedra-alkaloids or not could be determined in all investigated samples unambiguously.     

Optimized separation of pesticide enantiomers by chiral high-performance liquid chromatography

Summary A computer-assisted method is described for optimization of multi-component, mobile phase selection for separating enantiomers of four pesticides in normal-phase HPLC. The method is based on the triangle, solvent-selection concept using a statistical scanning method. The optimization of the separation over the experimental region is based on a special polynomial estimation from seven experimental runs, and resolution (R_s) is used as the selection criterion. Excellent agreement was obtained between predicted and experimental data.     

On-line racemization by high-performance liquid chromatography

An on-column stopped-flow bidimensional recycling HPLC procedure was developed to obtain an enantiomeric enrichment starting from a racemic mixture. The method developed was applied to two chiral compounds of pharmaceutical interest, (±)(R,S)-2,3,3a,4-tetrahydro-1H-pyrrolo[2,1-c][1,2,4]benzothiadiazine 5,5-dioxide (1) and (±)-7-chloro-3-methyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-1,2,4-benzothiadiazine 1,1-dioxide ((±)IDRA21, (2)), since the pharmacological activity of the two benzothiadiazine derivatives investigated has been ascribed to only one enantiomer. Starting from a racemic mixture it was possible to obtain about 95% of pure enantiomer. The procedure was applied both in reverse-phase mode and in normal-phase mode. The scaled up and automatization of the novel analytical HPLC procedure represents a powerful tool to obtain pure enantiomer starting from racemic compounds without cumbersome stereoselective synthesis or expensive enantiopurification processes.     

Enantiomeric Separation of Adrenergic Amines in Citrus Species, Related Genera and Dietary Supplements by Capillary Electrophoresis

Citrus aurantium L. (Rutaceae) fruit extracts have recently been used for weight loss. Among the adrenergic amines the most important active constituent is the sympathomimetic compound synephrine and commercially available extracts are standardized for their content of this active principle. A capillary electrophoresis method was developed for the quantitative and qualitative determination of d-synephrine, l-synephrine, d-octopamine, l-octopamine, tyramine, n-methyl tyramine and hordenine. The electrophoretic separation was performed using a 75 cm × 50 µm ID (66.5 cm effective length) fused silica capillary. The samples were injected by pressure for 5s at 50 mbar and the running voltage was 30 kV at the injector end of the capillary. The method developed was successively applied to the determination of the adrenergic amines in dietary supplements, in various Citrus species including Citrus aurantium, jams and juices. Synephrine was the main component and present in the levels from 0.02–0.17% in various Citrus species and 0.42–69.28 mg in dietary supplements claiming to contain Citrus aurantium. Parameters affecting the resolution between (+) and (−)-enantiomers, such as pH, cyclodextrin concentration, temperature, organic modifier, buffer concentration and capillary dimensions were reported.     

Enantiomeric separation of asymmetric triacylglycerol by recycle high-performance liquid chromatography with chiral column

In our previous studies, we employed recycle HPLC for the separation of triacylglycerol (TAG)-positional isomers (PIs). In this study, a recycle HPLC system equipped with a polysaccharide-based chiral column was applied to the enantiomeric separation of some asymmetric TAGs having straight-chain C16-C18 acyl residues. As a result, 1,2-dipalmitoyl-3-oleoyl-rac-glycerol (rac-PPO), 1,2-dioleoyl-3-palmitoyl-rac-glycerol (rac-OOP), and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-3-linoleoyl-rac-glycerol (rac-PPL) were resolved into their respective enantiomers. However, neither 1,2-dioleoyl-3-linoleoyl-rac-glycerol (rac-OOL), consisting of only unsaturated fatty acids, nor 1,2-dipalmitoyl-3-stearoyl-rac-glycerol (rac-PPS), consisting of only saturated fatty acids, was resolved. These results suggest that the asymmetric TAGs, used in this study, having both a palmitic acid moiety and an oleic acid (or a linoleic acid) moiety at the sn-1 or sn-3 positions are resolved by the chiral column. This new chiral separation method can be used in combination with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry to determine the sn-OOP/sn-POO ratio in palm oil. This method is applicable for the chiral separation of asymmetric TAGs in palm oil.     

Identification of polyoxypregnane glycosides from the stems of Marsdenia tenacissima by high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

A facile method based on high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/(+)ESI-MSⁿ) has been established for the analysis of polyoxypregnane glycosides in the stems of Marsdenia tenacissima. The data reveals the ability of MSⁿ in the structural elucidation of polyoxypregnane glycosides including the nature of the polyoxypregnane core, the kinds of the substituents and the types of sugar residues. Offline Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) is also performed to assign accurate elemental compositions. In this study, eighteen polyoxypregnane glycosides have been investigated. Among these components, five compounds are unambiguously identified as Marsdenoside K, Tencissoside A, B, C and D; two compounds are established as novel compounds based on mass spectral data; and the other eleven compound's structures are tentatively proposed. Furthermore, breakdown curves are constructed to distinguish five pairs of isomers among these eighteen compounds. As far as our knowledge, this is the first report on identification of polyoxypregnane glycosides in the stems of M. tenacissima by HPLC/ESI-MSⁿ directly, which could save time and material consuming efforts in traditional phytochemistry analyses.     

Simultaneous determination of naphthoquinone derivatives in Boraginaceous herbs by high-performance liquid chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method using diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD) has been developed for the simultaneous quantification of eight naphthoquinone derivatives namely shikonin, acetylshikonin, deoxyshikonin, β-acetoxyisovalerylshikonin, isobutylshikonin, β,β-dimethylacrylshikonin, 2-methyl-n-butyrylshikonin and isovalerylshikonin in nine species of the Boraginaceae family. These species, coming from different areas of China, are all used as interchangeable sourcing plants for the Chinese Materia Medica known as “Zicao”, and are Arnebia euchroma (Royle) Johnston., A. guttata Bunge, Lithospermum erythrorhizon Sieb. et Zucc., Onosma paniculatum Bur. et Franch., O. exsertum Hemsl., O. confertum W.W. Smith, O. hookerii Clarke var. longiflorum Duthie, O. hookerii Clarke and O. waltonii Duthic. Quantification of the eight naphthoquinones in all the Zicao samples are reported and compared with each other. Furthermore, two positional isomers, 2-methyl-n-butyrylshikonin and isovalerylshikonin, were successfully separated and quantified for the first time in the present study. The results showed that, besides the three officially used species (namely, A. euchroma, A. guttata and L. erythrorhizon) that were listed in Chinese pharmacopoeia as interchangeable sourcing plants for Zicao, other six species of Onosma used by native peoples in Tibet and Yunnan Province also contain various types and considerable amounts of naphthoquinones and that O. waltonii contains the most. Therefore, these species of Onosma could be developed as new sources of naphthoquinones. The entire analytical procedure is reproducible and suitable for the quantification of naphthoquinones in all related Boraginaceous plants for quality assessment purposes.     

Triazolo-linked cinchona alkaloid carbamate anion exchange-type chiral stationary phases: Synthesis by click chemistry and evaluation

Immobilization strategy based on Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (click chemistry) of 10,11-didehydrocinchona tert-butylcarbamates to azido-grafted silica gels has been evaluated for preparation of novel chiral stationary phases (CSP 1-3). The resultant 1,2,3-triazole-linked CSPs were tested under various mobile phase conditions (polar organic and reversed phase mode) with a representative set of structurally diverse racemic acids including N-protected aminoacids, aromatic and aryloxycarboxylic acids as well as binaphthol phosphate. The chiral recognition performance of the C3-triazole-linked CSPs was found to mirror largely that of the known C3-thioether-linked CSP in terms of elution order, enantioselectivity and retention behavior. In an effort to assess the non-specific binding expressed as retention increment of these triazole-linked CSPs, the parent azidopropyl- and triazole-modified silica materials (thus not containing the chiral head ligand) were studied independently. Compared with the corresponding CSPs, the analyte retention on the azidopropyl control column was very low, and practically negligible on the corresponding triazole-modified reference column. Only minor losses in analyte retention behavior (<5%) were observed with triazole-linked CSPs after two month of continuous use with polar-organic and reversed-phase-type mobile phases, highlighting the excellent stability of the 1,2,3-triazole linker.     

Micelle-mediated extraction of tanshinones from Salvia miltiorrhiza bunge with analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography

The feasibility of employing non-ionic surfactant oligoethylene glycol monoalkyl ether (Genapol X-080) as an alternative and effective solvent for the extraction of tanshinones from Salvia miltiorrhiza bunge was studied for the first time. Various experimental conditions were investigated to optimize the extraction. Under optimum conditions, i.e. 10% Genapol X-080 (w/v), liquid/solid ratio of 20:1 (ml g⁻¹), ultrasonic-assisted extraction for 45 min, the extraction recovery of the tanshinones reached the highest value. When compared with commonly used solvents, 10% Genapol X-080 yielded almost the same extraction efficiency as methanol and dichloromethane-methanol (1:4). For the pre-concentration of tanshinones by cloud-point extraction (CPE), sodium chloride was added to the solution to facilitate the phase separation and increase the pre-concentration factor by reducing the volume of the surfactant-rich phase.     

Determination of Cinchona alkaloids and Vitamin B6 by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A simple and specific method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of the four major Cinchona alkaloids and their dihydroderivatives and pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B₆) by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection (λ_em=420 nm with λ_ex=330 nm). The chromatographic separation was performed on a Phenomenex Prodigy ODS column (5 μm,  mm i.d.), recommended for basic compounds, under isocratic reversed-phase conditions. The method allowed a good peak shape and an effective resolution of the tested compounds. The extraction of alkaloids from the Cinchona succirubra bark was carried out in mild and fast conditions (ambient temperature, 20 min) by ultrasonication. The procedure showed to be advantageous respect to a reference method, which involved Soxhlet extraction. The results were compared statistically by means of the Student’s t-test and the variance ratio F-test; no significant difference was found. The method was reproducible (relative standard deviations in the range of 1.0-5.0% for the different alkaloids) and gave quantitative recovery of alkaloids added to bark samples (97.8-105%). For additional informations a photoreactor was arranged between the analytical column and the detector and the online post-column photochemical conversion (irradiation=254 nm) was investigated. Vitamin B₆ was shown to be highly photosensitive, giving significantly different fluorescence spectra with and without UV irradiation. The proposed method was successfully applied to the quality control of Cinchona bark, liquid extract and cosmetics.     

Rapid simultaneous determination of amines and organic acids in citrus using high-performance liquid chromatography

Rapid analytical method for the simultaneous separation and determination of amines and organic acids is a vital interest for quality control of citrus and their products. In the present study, a simultaneous high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the rapid separation of three amines and two organic acids was developed. Chromatographic separation of compounds was achieved using Xbridge C₁₈ column at ambient temperature, with an isocratic mobile phase of 3 mM phosphoric acid at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min⁻¹. A photodiode array (PDA) detector was used to monitor the eluent at 223 nm and 254 nm with a total analysis time of 10 min. Extraction of amines and organic acids from citrus juice was optimized. The method was validated by tests of linearity, recovery, precision and ruggedness. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) for amines and ascorbic acid were determined to be 5 ng and 9.8 ng, respectively. All calibration curves showed good linearity (R² ≥ 0.9999) within the test ranges. The recoveries of the amines and organic acids ranged between 84% and 117%. The identity of each peak was confirmed by mass spectral (MS) analysis. The developed method was successfully applied to analyze the content of amines and organic acids in six different species and two varieties of citrus. Results indicate that mandarin and Marrs sweet orange contain high level of amines, while pummelo and Rio Red grapefruit had high content of ascorbic acid (137-251 μg mL⁻¹) and citric acid (5-22 mg mL⁻¹). Synephrine was the major amine present in Clementine (114 μg mL⁻¹) and Marrs sweet orange (85 μg mL⁻¹). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on simultaneous separation and quantification of amines and organic acids in Marrs sweet orange, Meyer lemon, Nova tangerine, Clementine, Ugli tangelo and Wekiwa tangelo.     

Separation of the enantiomers of pyrethroic acids and their esters by high-performance liquid chromatography on a polysaccharide-derived chiral stationary phase

Summary The liquid-chromatographic separation of the enantiomers of pyrethroic acids and their esters has been investigated on a polysaccharide-derived chiral stationary phase (CSP), Chiralpak AS. Good separation of the enantiomers of underivatized pyrethroic acids was achieved on the column, and the enantiomers of pyrethroic acid methyl and ethyl ester derivatives were also resolved.     

Excellent combination of counter-current chromatography and preparative high-performance liquid chromatography to separate galactolipids from pumpkin

Galactolipids in the fruits of Cucurbita moschata (pumpkin) could not be completely separated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Preparative HPLC was not available for preparing major galactolipid monomers in pumpkin. In the present paper, a combination of high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) and preparative HPLC was used for preparing the galactolipids. A fraction containing galactolipids (Fr60) from the purification of the n-butanol extract of pumpkin by macro-porous resin column chromatography was first separated by HSCCC to result in three sub-fractions of each containing two galactolipid monomers. The three sub-fractions were further separated by preparative HPLC respectively to yield six galactolipid monomers with purity more than 96%. The method is a good one for preparing galactolipid monomers from plant materials for the studies of bioactivities.     

Fingerprint analysis of Dioscorea nipponica by high-performance liquid chromatography with evaporative light scattering detection

High-performance liquid chromatographic method (HPLC) with evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD) coupled with microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) as an efficient sample preparation technique has been developed for fingerprint analysis of Dioscorea nipponica. The samples were separated with an Agilent C8 column using water (A) and acetonitrile (B) under gradient conditions (0-10 min, linear gradient 20-40% B; 10-12 min, linear gradient 40-42% B; 12-25 min, isocratic 42% B) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1 mL min⁻¹ within 22 min. The ELSD conditions were optimized at nebulizer-gas flow rate 2.7 L min⁻¹ and drift tube temperature 90 °C. Precision experiments showed relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) of peak area and retention time were better than 2.5%; inter-day and intra-day variabilities showed that R.S.D. was ranged from 0.78% to 4.74%. Limit of detection was less than 50 μg mL⁻¹ and limit of quantification was less than 80 μg mL⁻¹. Accuracy validation showed that average recovery was between 97.39% and 104.07%. The method was validated to achieve the satisfactory precision and recovery. Relative retention time and relative peak area were used to identify the common peaks for fingerprint analysis. There are nine common peaks in the fingerprint. The quality of seven batches of D. nipponica samples was evaluated to be qualified or unqualified by the parameters “difference” and “total difference” of common peaks. Furthermore, the contents of important medicinal compounds (dioscin, prodioscin and gracillin) in different batches of D. nipponica samples were determined simultaneously using the developed HPLC-ELSD method. The results indicated variation of the herb quality which might be related to different producing area, growing condition, climate, harvest time, drug processing and so on. The developed analytical procedure was proved to be a reliable and rapid method for the quality control of D. nipponica.     

Microwave-assisted extraction of scutellarin from Erigeron breviscapus Hand-Mazz and its determination by high-performance liquid chromatography

An efficient microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) technique has been developed to extract scutellarin from Erigeron breviscapus for rapid determination by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The maximum yield of scutellarin reached 1.02% in 40 min under the optimal MAE conditions with 80 °C of extraction temperature and 1:10 (w/v) of the solid/liquid ratio. The MAE showed obvious advantages in terms of short duration and high efficiency to extract scutellarin in comparison with heat-flux extraction. The mechanism of the enhanced extraction by microwave assistance was discussed by detecting particle size and specific surface area of plant materials and observing cell destruction of plant material by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the plant materials were significantly destroyed due to the cell rupture after MAE treatment. Afterward, the method validation for HPLC-UV analysis was developed. Calibration range was 0.1-100 μg mL⁻¹ for scutellarin, and correlation coefficient R was 0.9993. Limit of detection was less than 0.01 μg mL⁻¹. The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) of scutellarin detection ranged from 1.58% to 2.96% and from 3.32% to 4.19%, respectively. The recovery of the method for scutellarin ranged from 96.7% to 101.9%.     

Determination of ephedra alkaloids by high-performance liquid chromatography

Summary Two simple methods were developed for the simultaneous determination of six alkaloids (ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, methylephedrine and methyl-pseudoephedrine) inEphedrae Herba by high-performance liquid chromatography. The first method was carried out by using a Cosmosil 5C₁₈-MS column with a gradient solvent system consisting of a phosphate buffer and acetonitrile, and detection at 210 nm. The contents of alkaloids in non-pretreated ephedra herb extracts could be determined easily in 50 min. Alternatively, the alkaloids could be determined within 35 minutes by using a Cosmosil 5C₁₈-MS column with an isocratic solvent system of a sodium dodecyl sulfate-acetonitrile solution. The two methods are compared and discussed.     

Determination of microcystin-LR in surface water using high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem electrospray ionization mass detector

The need for a rapid, sensitive, and reliable analytical method for microcystin-LR has been emphasized by the awareness of toxic cyanobacteria as a human-health risk through drinking water. Microcystin-LR is the most commonly reported microcystin which is produced by cyanobacteria. The WHO guideline for microcystin-LR in drinking water is 1 μg/l. In this paper, an effective method has been developed by application of high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem electrospray ionization mass detector in the determination of microcystin-LR in surface water sample. At the LC-MS-MS CID-full scan mode, different relative collision energies have been tested with 30% being used for further microcystin-LR analysis. The possible mass dissociation path has been proposed. Based on 30% relative collision energy, present method has an excellent method detection limit (MDL), which is as low as 2.6 ng/l. To the best of our knowledge, this represents one of the most sensitive methods in existence for the microcystin-LR analysis. This method has also been validated by evaluation of the calibration linearity, precision, accuracy, recovery, and mass ratio stability.     

Fingerprint quality control of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with discriminant analysis

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was employed in the fingerprint analysis of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels. A chromatographic profile of A. sinensis (Oliv.) Diels from the Dingxi District of Gansu province, China, was established as the characteristic fingerprint. The feasibility and advantages of employing chromatographic fingerprint combined with discriminant analysis were investigated and demonstrated for the evaluation of A. sinensis (Oliv.) Diels for the first time. Our results showed that the chromatographic fingerprint combining with discriminant analysis can efficiently distinguish A. sinensis (Oliv.) Diels from various areas.     

Simultaneous determination of nine aristolochic acid analogues in medicinal plants and preparations by high-performance liquid chromatography

By optimizing the extraction, separation and analytical conditions, a simple, reliable and effective high-performance liquid chromatography method coupled with photodiode array detector (HPLC-DAD) is presented for simultaneous determination of nine aristolochic acid (AA) analogues, i.e., AA I, AA II, AA C, AA D, 7-OH AA I, aristolic acid, AL II, AL III and AL IV, in twelve medicinal herbs and two preparations. The separation was completed on a C18 column with aqueous methanol containing 0.2% (V/V) acetic acid as mobile phase. Linearities of around two orders of magnitude were obtained with correlation coefficients exceeding 0.9950. Satisfactory intra-day and inter-day precisions were achieved with R.S.D.s less than 4.35%, and the average recovery factors obtained were in the range of 88.4-98.8%. The proposed method appears to be suitable for use as a tool for safety assurance and quality control for commercially available suspect samples containing aristolochic acid analogues.     

Composition analysis of positional isomers of phosphatidylinositol by high-performance liquid chromatography

An HPLC-based method has been developed for composition analysis of six positional isomers of phosphatidylinositol (PI), of which the phosphatidyl group was connected to different positions of the myo-inositol moiety. The method employed a combination of two types of HPLC analyses. One was direct separation of the six PI isomers into four peaks of 1(3)-PI, 2-PI, 4(6)-PI and 5-PI on a normal-phase silica gel column. The second method was for the separations of 1-PI from 3-PI and 4-PI from 6-PI, which were not separable on the normal-phase column. This method involved conversion of PI isomers into pentakis-(R)-1-phenylethylcarbamate (PEC) derivatives, which were separated on a reversed-phase column. Using the established method, positional specificity of several engineered phospholipases D in enzymatic synthesis of PI from myo-inositol and phosphatidylcholine was investigated. This was performed by analyzing the isomeric composition of PIs synthesized by the mutant enzymes. Among five mutant enzymes tested, two showed strong specificity to 1-OH, one showed moderate preference to 1-OH, one preferred 3-OH, and one showed broad specificity towards 1-, 3-, 4- and 6-OH.