Simultaneous determination of eight ginsenosides in Zibu Piyin Recipe using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS)

Abstract

A simple, sensitive, selective, and reliable ultra-performance liquid chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous detection and quantification of eight compounds (ginsenosides Rg₁, Re, Rf, Rb₃, Ro, Rd, and 20(S)- and 20(R)-ginsenoside-Rg₂) found in Zibu Piyin Recipe (ZBPYR). These compounds were separated within 20 min on a ZORBAX RRHD Eclipse Plus C18 column with acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid as the mobile phase. The column was coupled to an ESI-triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer operated in positive ion mode. The eight ginsenosides were quantified in multiple reaction monitoring acquisition mode. Regression analyses revealed good linear relationships (R = 0.9986–0.9993) within the test ranges examined. Variations in the inter- and intra-day analytical precision for all analyses were less than 2.96%. The analytical accuracy, evaluated by a recovery test at three concentrations, was in the range of 96.51–104.94% (relative standard deviation < 4.5%). The proposed method is accurate, sensitive, and reliable. The 8 ginsenoside compounds were also quantified using this method in 10 ZBPYR sample batches, and the results provide a new basis for the overall assessment of ZBPYR quality.