Determination of vitexin and isovitexin in pigeonpea using ultrasonic extraction followed by LC-MS

A method based on ultrasonic extraction (USE) followed by LC-MS is presented for the determination of vitexin and isovitexin in pigeonpea extracts in this study. The influential parameters of the USE procedure were optimized, and the optimal conditions were as follows: extraction solvent, 60% ethanol solution; liquid/solid ratio 10:1 (mL/g), extraction power, 250 W; temperature, 40-50 degrees C; and three extraction cycles, each cycle 15 min. Validation of the USE method was performed in terms of repeatability and reproducibility. RSDs for extraction yields were lower than 5.85 and 8.09%, respectively. The LOD and LOQ of chromatographic determination were 0.96 and 3.2 ng/mL for vitexin and 0.84 and 2.8 ng/mL for isovitexin. The method was also successfully applied for the determination of vitexin and isovitexin in stems, leaves, and root extracts of pigeonpea. From all these results, we may conclude that the developed method is appropriate for the quality control of pigeonpea and other plant extract products developed from pigeonpea.