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Simultaneous Analysis of Macamides in Maca (Lepidium meyenii) with Different Drying Process by Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

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Abstract

Macamides with benzylalkylamides structure are a group of characteristic constituents isolated from functional food Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp.). Previous study demonstrated that macamides are secondary amides, the accumulation of which is associated with drying process. In this study, a rapid method based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) is developed for the simultaneous detection and determination of macamides in Maca. Validation parameters including linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, accuracy, precision, repeatability, and stability were all within the required limits. Seven major macamides are determined by the UPLC method with detection wavelength at 205 nm in 12 min. Based on the fragmentation pattern of standard compounds, four fragment ions (m/z 91, 108, 121, and 138) are selected as diagnostic ions for detection of macamides through precursor ion acquisition mode. Additionally, comparative analysis is performed to examine the effects of different drying processes (air-drying, oven-drying, freeze-drying, and steaming) on Maca (whole hypocotyls and pieces) for macamides. Whole hypocotyls with oven-drying showed the highest content of macamides (2.528 mg/g), while freeze-drying and steaming significantly decrease the amount of macamides. The results provide a reliable method for analysis of macamides and extend previous work insights into the drying process of Maca.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Medicinal Plants, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2238, Beijing Road, Panlong District, Kunming, 650200, China

    Yu Pan, Ji Zhang, Hong Li, Yuan-Zhong Wang & Wan-Yi Li

  2. Yunnan Technical Center for Quality of Chinese Materia Medica, Kunming, 650200, China

    Yu Pan, Ji Zhang, Hong Li, Yuan-Zhong Wang & Wan-Yi Li

Authors
  1. Yu Pan
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  2. Ji Zhang
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  3. Hong Li
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  4. Yuan-Zhong Wang
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  5. Wan-Yi Li
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yuan-Zhong Wang or Wan-Yi Li.

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Compliance with Ethical Standards

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31460538) and Key Project of Yunnan Provincial Natural Science Foundation (2013FC006).

Conflict of Interest

Yu Pan, Ji Zhang, Hong Li, Yuan-Zhong Wang, and Wan-Yi Li declare they have no conflicts of interests in relation with this manuscript.

Research Involving Human Participants and/or Animals

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Pan, Y., Zhang, J., Li, H. et al. Simultaneous Analysis of Macamides in Maca (Lepidium meyenii) with Different Drying Process by Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry. Food Anal. Methods 9, 1686–1695 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-015-0346-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-015-0346-9

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