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Quantification and characterization of alkaloids from roots of Rauwolfia serpentina using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-photo diode array-mass spectrometry

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Abstract

A new UHPLC-UV method has been developed for the simultaneous analysis of seven alkaloids [ajmaline (1), yohimbine (2), corynanthine (3), ajmalicine (4), serpentine (5), serpentinine (6), and reserpine (7)] from the root samples of Rauwolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex Kurz. The chromatographic separation was achieved using a reversed phase C18 column with a mobile phase of water and acetonitrile, both containing 0.05 % formic acid. The seven compounds were completely separated within 8 min at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min with a 2-μL injection volume. The method is validated for linearity, accuracy, repeatability, limits of detection (LOD), and limits of quantification (LOQ). Seven plant samples and 21 dietary supplements claiming to contain Rauwolfia roots were analyzed and content of total alkaloids (1–7) varied, namely, 1.57–12.1 mg/g dry plant material and 0.0–4.5 mg/day, respectively. The results indicated that commercial products are of variable quality. The developed analytical method is simple, economic, fast, and suitable for quality control analysis of Rauwolfia samples and commercial products. The UHPLC-QToF-mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization (ESI) interface method is described for the confirmation and characterization of alkaloids from plant samples. This method involved the detection of [M + H]+ or M+ ions in the positive mode.

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Acknowledgments

This research is supported in part by “Science Based Authentication of Dietary Supplements” funded by the Food and Drug Administration grant number 1U01FD004246-3 and the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Specific Cooperative Agreement No. 58-6408-02-1-603-04. The authors would like to thank Dr. Jon Parcher, Research Professor Emeritus at The University of Mississippi for providing support and valuable suggestions in the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Mississippi, 1558 University Circle, University, MS, 38677, USA

    Satyanarayanaraju Sagi, Bharathi Avula, Yan-Hong Wang & Ikhlas A. Khan

  2. Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of BioMolecular Sciences, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA

    Ikhlas A. Khan

  3. Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Ikhlas A. Khan

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  1. Satyanarayanaraju Sagi
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  2. Bharathi Avula
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Correspondence to Ikhlas A. Khan.

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Sagi, S., Avula, B., Wang, YH. et al. Quantification and characterization of alkaloids from roots of Rauwolfia serpentina using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-photo diode array-mass spectrometry. Anal Bioanal Chem 408, 177–190 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-015-9093-4

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