Rapid simultaneous quantitative determination of terpenoids in Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Analytical Methods Pub Date: 2013-02-13 DOI: 10.1039/C3AY26501C

Abstract

A rapid and sensitive method for simultaneous quantitative determination of terpenoids in Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TwHF) was developed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS). In this method, five major terpenoids, including triptolide, triptonide, demethylzelastral, tripterine and wilforlide A, with large content range in TwHF, were determined simultaneously in a UHPLC run of 4.5 minutes. The intra-day and inter-day precisions of five terpenoids were less than 4.58% and 4.82%, respectively, and the mean recovery rates obtained were in the range of 97.2% to 104.5%. All calibration curves showed good linearity (r2 > 0.996) from 20 ng mL?1 and 20?000 ng mL?1. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) were less than 5.7 ng mL?1 and 19.0 ng mL?1. Compared with previous studies, this method could be employed for accurate quantification of five terpenoids in different parts and products of TwHF in a very short time after simple ultrasonic extraction. The results indicated that this method would provide a rapid and sensitive way for evaluating the quality of the TwHF and its products.

Graphical abstract: Rapid simultaneous quantitative determination of terpenoids in Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry
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