Quality evaluation of Cordyceps through simultaneous determination of eleven nucleosides and bases by RP-HPLC

A new RP-HPLC method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of 11 nucleosides and bases, including adenosine, cordycepin, cytidine, guanosine, inosine, thymidine, uridine, cytosine, guanine, thymine, and uracil in Cordyceps. Determination was achieved on a Zorbax 300SB C18 analytical column (4.6 x 250 mm id, 5 mm) using gradient elution with diode-array detection. All calibration curves showed good linearity (r2 > 0.9995) within the test ranges. The developed method was simple, rapid, and accurate, and showed good reproducibility for the quantification of 11 nucleosides and bases in natural and cultured Cordyceps with both intra- and inter-day variations of less than 1.8%. Furthermore, hierarchical clustering analysis based on the typical peaks of adenosine, cordycepin, and inosine in HPLC profiles from the 11 tested samples showed that natural and cultured Cordyceps were in different clusters, which could provide a means of discriminating between Cordyceps of different origins. Thus, adenosine, cordycepin, and inosine could be used as markers for quality control of Cordyceps.