A rapid and sensitive LC-MS/MS method for determination of coenzyme Q10 in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) leaves

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method with multiple reaction monitoring has been proposed for the analysis of coenzyme Q10 in (CoQ10) tobacco leaves. The method used electrospray ionization with detection in positive ion mode. Sample pretreatment involved ultrasonic extraction of fresh tobacco leaves with anhydrous ethanol for 15 min and followed by extraction of the supernatant with hexane. The separation of CoQ10 was performed on a Symmetry Shield RP18 column with a mixture of acetonitrile and isopropanol (8:7, v/v) containing 0.5% formic acid as mobile phase. Quantification of CoQ10 was performed by the standard addition method. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation of CoQ10 were, respectively, 1.2 ng/mL (S/N = 3) and 4.0 ng/mL (S/N = 10). The relative standard deviations of peak area were 0.91% and 1.21% for intra-day and inter-day, respectively. The recoveries of CoQ10 ranged from 98.2 to 99.3% and the corresponding RSDs were less than 2.4%. Analysis took 5 min, making the method suitable for rapid determination of CoQ10 in tobacco leaves. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the analysis of CoQ10 in the leaves from eight varieties of tobacco.