Determination of isoquinoline alkaloids inThalictrum herbal drugs by non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis

Summary A rapid non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis method has been developed for the separation and determination, within 14 min, of eight isoquinoline alkaloids (berberine, palmatine, jatrorrhizine, (+)-tetrandrine, berbamine, thalifaricine, northalfine, and thalistine) in seventeen samples of the herbal drug thalictrum. A methanolic solution of sodium acetate (75mm) and acetic acid (1m) was found to be the optimum running buffer for the separation. Thalictrum Atriplex Finet et Gagep (T.AFG) was selected for further study, including investigation of recovery and precision, because this preparation contained all the isoquinoline alkaloids tested. Calibration curves were highly linear over a 20-fold concentration range and detection limits for all eight alkaloids were in the range 0.42–3.04 μg mL⁻¹.     

Dynamic pH junction-sweeping capillary electrophoresis for online preconcentration of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in Chinese herbal medicine

There is a need to develop simple yet effective preconcentration methods to enhance concentration sensitivity for CE analysis of trace level analytes in real samples, particularly when commonly available but less sensitive detection methods, e.g., UV detection, are used. In this report, a hyphenated online preconcentration strategy combining dynamic pH junction with sweeping (i.e., dynamic pH junction-sweeping) was employed for the analysis of four toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) of senkirkine, senecionine, retrorsine, and seneciphylline in Chinese herbal medicine (Kuan donghua). Direct electrokinetically focusing of a large sample volume injection (up to 20% of capillary length) on the capillary was performed using the dynamic pH junction-sweeping method. A sample matrix consisting of 10 mM phosphate with 20% methanol at pH 4.0 and a BGE containing 20 mM borate, 30 mM SDS, and 20% methanol at pH 9.1 were utilized to realize dynamic pH junction-sweeping for PAs. This online preconcentration strategy resulted in sensitivity enhancement factors ranging from 23.8- to 90.0-fold for the four toxic PAs, giving an LOD as low as 30 ppb for the PAs. Critical factors such as sample matrix type, pH, and salt concentration were also examined to achieve higher sensitivity enhancement, shorter analysis time, and better resolution. The results indicate that the proposed dynamic pH junction-sweeping technique is a powerful alternative approach for identification and determination of trace levels of these toxic PAs and other hydrophobic, protonatable compounds in real samples.     

Determination of quinolizidine alkaloids in traditional Chinese herbal drugs by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis.

A rapid method for the determination of quinolizidine alkaloids by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis was developed. A total of 10 alkaloids (matrine, sophocarpine, oxymatrine, oxysophocarpine, sophoridine, cytisine, sophoramine, aloperine, lehmannine and dauricine) could be easily separated within 18 min. A running buffer composed of 50 mM ammonium acetate, 10% tetrahydrofuran and 0.5% acetic acid in methanol was found to be the most suitable for this separation. Five of these alkaloids were selected for further studies. The linear calibration ranges were 2.51-50.1 microg/ml for sophoridine and sophocarpine, 2.71-54.2 microg/ml for matrine, 3.30-65.9 microg/ml for oxymatrine, and 3.10-62.0 microg/ml for oxysophocarpine. The recovery of the five alkaloids was 98.0-101.3% with relative standard deviations from 1.03 to 2.68% (n=5). The limits of detection for all 10 alkaloids were over the range 0.93-2.31 microg/ml. The method was successfully applied to the phytochemical analysis of alkaloid extracts from three commonly used traditional Chinese herbal drugs: Sophora flavescens Ait. (Kushen), S. alopecuroides L. (Kudouzi or Kugancao) and S. tonkinensis Gapnep (Shandougen).     

Determination of ephedrine alkaloids by capillary electrophoresis

A simple and rapid method for the simultaneous determination of six ephedrine alkaloids (ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, methylephedrine and methylpseudoephedrine) in Ephedrae herba by capillary electrophoresis was developed. A buffer solution that contained 0.005 M barium hydroxide and 0.02 M isoleucine and adjusted to pH 10.0 with ammonia solution was found to be the most suitable electrolyte for this separation. The contents of the six alkaloids in the crude drug of Ephedrae herba could be easily determined.     

毛细管电泳法分析唐古特白刺种子中两种生物碱

利用毛细管电泳法分离测定唐古特白刺种子中的尿囊素和吲哚生物碱1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro--βcarboline-3-carboxylic acid(MTCCA),所用毛细管规格为48.5 cm×50μm i.d.,DAD检测波长220 nm,最佳分离条件:电压19 kV,分离温度25℃,背景电解质为含有32 mmol/L SDS,体积分数10.0%乙腈的32mmol/L硼酸溶液,pH 10.0。MTCCA与尿囊素分别在350.0~11.0μg/mL和112.5~3.5μg/mL质量浓度范围内与电泳峰面积呈现良好线性关系,检出限分别为5.0μg/mL和2.5μg/mL。对标准品进行6次测定,迁移时间的RSD为1.1%和1.4%,峰面积的RSD为2.3%和0.82%。     

Application of high performance capillary electrophoresis on toxic alkaloids analysis

We employed CE to identify mixtures of the toxic alkaloids lappaconitine, bullatine A, atropine sulfate, atropine methobromide, scopolamine hydrobromide, anisodamine hydrobromide, brucine, strychnine, quinine sulfate, and chloroquine in human blood and urine, using procaine hydrochloride as an internal standard. The separation employed a fused-silica capillary of 75 microm id x 60 cm length (effective length: 50.2 cm) and a buffer containing 100 mM phosphate and 5% ACN (pH 4.0). The sample was injected in a pressure mode and the separation was performed at a voltage of 16 kV and a temperature of 25 degrees C. The compounds were detected by UV absorbance at wavelengths of 195 and 235 nm. All the ten alkaloids were separated within 16 min. The method was validated with regard to precision (RSD), accuracy, sensitivity, linear range, LOD, and LOQ. In blood and urine samples, the detection limits were 5-40 ng/mL and linear calibration curves were obtained over the range of 0.02-10 microg/mL. The precision of intra- and interday measurements was less than 15%. Electrophoretic peaks could be identified either by the relative migration time or by their UV spectrum.     

Determination of diastereoisomeric alkaloids in urine by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence detection

A new and simple capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence detection was developed for the separation and the quantification of a pair of diastereoisomenc alkaloids（ephedrine and pseudoephedrine）.The limits of detection（S/N = 3） were 4.5×10^-8 mol/L for ephedrine and 5.2×10^-8 mol/L for pseudoephedrine,respectively.The RSDs of migration time and peak area were less than 1.3 and 2.5%（n = 5）,respectively.The applicability of the propose method was illustrated in the determination of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine in human urine,ephedrine in nasal drops,and the monitoring of pharmacokinetics for pseudoephedrine.     

Micelle to solvent stacking of two alkaloids in nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis

This paper for the first time describes the development of micelle to solvent stacking (MSS) to nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE). In this proposed MSS-NACE, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles transport, release, and focus analytes from the sample solution to the running buffer using methanol as their solvent. After the focusing step, the focused analytes were separated via NACE. The focusing mechanism and influencing factors were discussed using berberine (BBR) and jatrorrhizine (JTZ) as model compounds. And the optimum condition was obtained as following: 50 mM ammonium acetate, 6% (v/v) acetic acid and 10 mM SDS in redistilled water as sample matrix, 50 mM ammonium acetate and 6% (v/v) acetic acid in pure methanol as the running buffer, -20 kV focusing voltage with 30 min focusing time. Under these conditions, this method afforded limits of detection (S/N=3) of 0.002 μg/mL and 0.003 μg/mL for BBR and JTZ, respectively. In contrast to conventional NACE, the concentration sensitivity was improved 128-153-fold.     

非水毛细管电泳测定黄连饮片中5种生物碱

建立了一种非水毛细管电泳(NACE)同时测定黄连饮片生品与炮制品中小檗碱、巴马汀、药根碱、木兰碱和黄连碱含量的方法。分别考察了非水溶剂、缓冲液体系及其浓度和pH、运行电压、运行温度和检测波长等条件对实验结果的影响。在优化的实验条件下,选择非水毛细管电泳分离模式,以40 mmol/L乙酸钠-40 mmol/L乙酸铵的无水甲醇缓冲溶液(pH 5.8)为电泳介质,未涂渍标准熔融石英毛细管(64.5 cm×75 μm,有效长度56 cm)为分离通道,检测波长为254 nm,分离电压为25 kV,压力进样(5 kPa×6 s),柱温为20 ℃。结果显示,5种生物碱在20 min内可实现基线分离,加标回收率为98.37%～101.03%。该方法简单、准确,重现性较好,可用于黄连饮片内在质量的评价和控制。     

Determination of tobacco alkaloids in single plant cells by capillary electrophoresis

A new capillary electrophoresis system with direct UV detection for the analysis of the tobacco alkaloids nicotine, nornicotine and anabasine in plant microsamples was developed. An electrolyte containing a high concentration of citric acid to provide good buffer capacity at pH 3.6 was found to be most suitable in terms of sensitivity and separation efficiency. At this low pH the tobacco alkaloids are present in cationic form, showing high mobility and increased UV absorption. This system was used for the analysis of nicotine in single epidermal leaf cells of tobacco plants. Only vacuolar concentrations of nicotine were determined, as the vacuole occupies >95% of the entire volume in epidermal cells. The procedure of sample acquisition and preparation for nicotine analysis of vacuolar samples in the pl range is shown. The results indicate a gradient of nicotine from the leaf base to the tip with higher concentrations present in the cells at the tip. Compared to simultaneously measured bulk leaf samples containing all types of cells, tissues and compartments, the concentrations in epidermal cells are much higher. As nicotine is the major defence substance against insects in tobacco and the epidermis is the most exposed leaf tissue this result is physiologically plausible.     

Quality control of herbal medicines by capillary electrophoresis: potential, requirements and applications

Herbal preparations, particularly those from traditional Chinese or Indian medicine, are becoming increasingly popular in Europe and the USA. Their application is often based on long-term historic use rather than on scientific evidences; thus, analytical tools to assure their efficacy, safety and consistency are in great demand. This review evaluates the importance of CE for quality control of herbal medicinal products during the last five years. After briefly describing the general characteristics of natural products analysis by CE, numerous applications on medicinal plants or herbal products are summarized. These examples not only reflect the enormous variability of CE with respect to buffer systems and detection modes employed, but also indicate an increasing importance of this separation technique for quality control purposes compared with more established ones such as HPLC.     

Determination of polyphenol components in herbal medicines by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with Tween 20

A simple and convenient method of micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) using polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate (Tween 20) to form single micelle and methanol as a buffer additive was introduced for the simultaneous determination of five polyphenols, including scopoletin, rutin, esculetin, chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid. A running buffer solution of pH 9.3, 20 mmol/L sodium tetraborate containing 64 mmol/L Tween 20 and 9% (v/v) methanol was adopted in the separation. Because rutin and esculetin were difficult to be separated by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and SDS-based MEKC, Tween 20-based MEKC was adopted and the polyphenols were separated satisfactorily. The proposed method was used to determine the polyphenol components in the herbal medicine of Cortex fraxini. The separation mechanism of Tween 20-based MEKC for the polyphenols was discussed preliminarily.     

毛细管气相色谱法测定中药材中多种拟除虫菊酯农药残留量

研究了气相色谱法测定中药材中多种拟除虫菊酯类残留量的分析方法。样品经正己烷．丙酮混合液[V（正己烷）：V（丙酮）=1：1]提取,氟罗里硅土层析柱净化,采用毛细管色谱柱分离,GC-ECD可同时测定8种拟除虫菊酯类农药残留量,回收率为76．6％～104．2％。     

Separation and determination of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in traditional Chinese herbal medicines by micellar electrokinetic chromatography with organic modifier

A simple and rapid micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) method was developed for the separation and determination of four toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) (senkirkine, senecionine, retrorsine, and seneciphylline) in two traditional Chinese herbal medicines (Qian liguang and Kuan donghua). Separation was performed in the running buffer consisting of 20 mM borate, 30 mM SDS, and 20% methanol at pH 9.1. With the optimized separation conditions, four PAs were separated in 17 min by a single run. The calibration curves showed good linearity with correlation efficiencies (R(2)) between 0.9940 and 0.9988. RSDs in migration time and peak area were 0.31, 0.40, 0.39, 0.48% and 3.28, 3.48, 4.16, 3.42% for senkirkine, senecionine, retrorsine, and seneciphylline, respectively. Limits of detection (S/N = 3) varied from 1.19 to 2.70 microg/mL. The proposed method was applied to determine the PAs extracted from Chinese herbal medicines (Qian liguang and Kuan donghua). PA of senkirkine in Kuan donghua was detected and the amount was found to be 79.1 microg/g. The results obtained indicate that the proposed MEKC method could potentially become an effective alternative tool for qualification control and quantitative analysis of herbal medicines in pharmaceutical industry.     

Determination of aristolochic acid in Chinese herbal medicine by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection

We have demonstrated the analysis of aristolochic acids (AAs) that are naturally occurring nephrotoxin and carcinogen by capillary electrophoresis in conjunction with laser-induced fluorescence detection (CE-LIF). Owing to lack of intrinsic fluorescence characteristics of oxidized AAs (OAAs), reduction of the analytes by iron powder in 10.0 mM HCl is required prior to CE analysis. The reduced AAs (RAAs) exhibit fluorescence at 477 nm when excited at 405 nm using a solid-state blue laser. By using 50.0 mM sodium tetraborate (pH 9.0) containing 10.0 mM SDS, the determination of AA-I and AA-II by CE-LIF has been achieved within 12 min. The CE-LIF provides the LODs of 8.2 and 5.4 nM for AA-I and AA-II, respectively. The simple CE-LIF method has been validated by the analysis of 61 Chinese herbal samples. Prior to CE analysis, OAAs were extracted by using 5.0 mL MeOH, and then the extracts were subjected to centrifugation at 3,000 rpm for 5 min. After reduction, extraction, and centrifugation, the supernatants were collected and subjected to CE analysis. Of the 61 samples, 14 samples contain AA-I and AA-II, as well as 10 samples contain either AAI or AAII. The relative standard deviation (RSD) values of the migration times for AA-I and AA-II are less than 2.5% and 2.1% for three consecutive measurements of each sample. The RSD values for the peak heights corresponding to AA-I and AA-II in most samples are about 8.0% and 10.0%, respectively. The result shows that the present CE-LIF approach is sensitive, simple, efficient, and accurate for the determination of AAs in real samples.     

毛细管电泳安培检测法测定儿茶中的儿茶素,表儿茶素

用毛细管电泳安培检测法同时测定了中药儿茶中儿茶素和表儿茶素的含量,研究了各种实验条件对分离效果的影响,得到了优化的实验条件.以直径为50 μm的碳纤维微电极为工作电极,电极电位为+1.2V(vs.Ag/AgCl),20mmol/L的Na2B4O7-H3BO3(pH值为8.4)+80 mmol/L SDS为缓冲溶液.在此条件下,儿茶素和表儿茶素在10 min内得到了良好的分离.儿茶素和表儿茶素分别在5.0×10-3～0.5mg/mL浓度范围内与电泳峰电流呈现良好线性关系,检测下限分别为0.1 mg/mL和0.05 mg/mL.将之应用于实际样品的测定.     

Determination of five anthraquinones in medicinal plants by capillary zone electrophoresis with beta-cyclodextrin addition

A simple and rapid method for the simultaneous determination of five anthraquinone derivatives including aloe-emodin, emodin, chrysophanol, physcoin and rhein in Rheum species and Polygonum cuspidatum was established by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) using beta-cyclodextrin (CD) as modifier and urea to enhance its solubility. The apparent binding constants of these derivatives with beta-CD were evaluated. After an optimization study, the best conditions were selected using 35 mM phosphate buffer (pH 11.0) containing 20 mM beta-CD and 2 M urea, applied voltage 20 kV and detection at 254 nm. Under such conditions, all of the five anthraquinones were baseline-separated within a short analysis time of 12 min with symmetrical peaks and high theoretical plate numbers (189,000-314,000). The RSD values of the migration times and peak areas were 0.6-1.1, 1.3-1.9% (intra-day) and 0.6-1.5, 1.3-2.8% (inter-day, for a 5-day period), respectively. The limits of detection for the analytes (S/N = 3) were 0.33-0.62 microg/ml. The recoveries were ranged from 93.37 to 107.69%. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of anthraquinones in ethanol extracts of two kinds of Rheum plants (R. palmatum and R. hotaoense) and P. cuspidatum.     

Analysis of protoberberine alkaloids in several herbal drugs and related medicinal preparations by non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis

A simple, rapid, reproducible, and universal non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis method has been developed for the separation and determination of three major active protoberberine alkaloids including berberine, palmatine, and jatrorrhizine within 7 min. The effects of the concentrations of acetic acid and electrolyte, the ratio of organic solvent, and the applied voltage on the separation were investigated. The optimum running buffer was composed of 50 mM ammonium acetate, 0.5% (v/v) acetic acid, and 10% (v/v) acetonitrile in methanol. The applied voltage was 18 kV. The analytes were detected by UV at 214 nm. The linearities between peak areas and the concentrations of the analytes were also investigated, and they exhibit excellent linear behavior over the concentration ranges (correlation coefficients: 0.9975-0.9986). The method was successfully applied to determine the three alkaloids in several families of herbal drugs (Rhizoma Coptidis, Cortex Berberidis, Cortex Phellodendri, Herba Chelidonii, Caulis Mahoniae) and their relevant medicinal preparations for the first time, and the recoveries of the three constituents ranged between 95.6-103.2% for berberine, 97.5-103.3% for palmatine, and 96.1 -103.6% for jatrorrhizine.     

Determination of quinolizidine alkaloids in Sophora medicinal plants by capillary electrophoresis

A new capillary electrophoresis (CE) method for the determination of quinolizidine alkaloids in Sophora medicinal plants was developed. A total of seven alkaloid components (cytisine, sophocarpine, matrine, lehmannine, sophoranol, oxymatrine and oxysophocarpine) were separated within 15 min. The running buffer was a 50 mM phosphate buffer containing 1%HP-β-CD and 3.3% isopropanol. The linear calibration ranges were 5.50-88.0 μg ml⁻¹ for cytisine and lehmannine, 5.00-88.0 μg ml⁻¹ for sophocarpine and sophoranol, 5.60-89.6 μg ml⁻¹ for matrine and oxysophocarpine, and 24.0-384 μg ml⁻¹ for oxymatrine. The recoveries of the seven alkaloids were 96.0-102.9% with relative standard deviations from 1.50 to 3.00% (n = 5). The method was successfully applied to different Sophora medicinal plants including Sophora flavescens, Sophora tonkinensis and Sophora alopecuroides.     

Determination of quinolizidine alkaloids in Sophora flavescens and its preparation using capillary electrophoresis

A simple and accurate capillary electrophoresis method was developed for the determination of four quinolizidine alkaloids in Sophora flavescens and Kuhuang injection. Optimum separation of the analytes was obtained on a 65 cm x 75 microm i.d. uncoated fused-silica capillary using a aqueous buffer system of 60 mmol L(-1) sodium borate at pH 8.5, with applied voltage and capillary temperature of 12 kV and 25 degrees C, respectively. Detection wavelength was set at 204 nm and jatrorrhizine was used as the internal standard. Good linear relationships between peak-area ratios and concentrations of the analytes were observed over the concentration range 0.044-0.792 mg mL(-1) for matrine, 0.142-1.926 mg mL(-1) for oxymatrine, 0.0377-0.3393 mg mL(-1) for sophocarpine and 0.0664-1.062 mg mL(-1) for sophoridine. The recoveries of four alkaloids ranged between 93.08 and 101.4% with relative standard deviations from 0.7 to 9.2% (n = 6) as determined by standard addition. The limits of detection for four alkaloids were determined to be over the range 8.8-48.0 microg mL(-1). Contents of four alkaloids in Sophora flavescens and three alkaloids in Kuhuang injection were successfully determined under the optimum conditions.