Simultaneous determination of three alkaloids in Huperzia serrata by UPLC-PDA and UPLC-Q/TOF-MS

Abstract

In the current study, a reliable method has been developed and validated for quantification of three alkaloids (Huperzine A, Huperzine B and Huperzine C) from Huperzia serrata based on ultraperformance liquid chromatography (UPLC) with a photodiode array detector (PDA) and confirmed by tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (Q/TOF-MS). Separation was performed on a Waters BEH shield RP 18 column with gradient elution. The detection wavelength was set at 310 nm. The evaluation of the method showed good linearity, repeatability, accuracy and precision. The limits of quantification varied from 0.11 to 0.4 μg g⁻¹ depending on the analytes. The proposed method was successfully applied to determine the three alkaloids in the samples of 18 batches of different origins from China. The results indicated that significant variation in the amount of quantitative ingredients was observed in different parts of samples from different sources. The contents of Huperzine A and Huperzine B in Hainan samples were significantly lower than those in samples from other areas. The method developed could be helpful for the quality control of Huperzia serrata. The present study can provide necessary information for the rational utilization of Huperzia serrata resources in Hainan province.