title: A rapid liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry(n) method for evaluation of synephrine in Citrus aurantium L. samples.
abstract: Immature bitter orange fruit and its extracts have been introduced into the market as an alternative to Ephedra in weight loss products. However, the safety of the immature bitter orange fruit and its extracts is a debated argument due to the presence of synephrine, a constituent known as a sympathomimetic agent. In this paper, we describe the development of a new, rapid, and simple liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry method devoted to the quantitative determination of synephrine in bitter orange samples, containing a high quantity of synephrine, and sweet orange samples, known to contain a low level of synephrine but at the same time being one of the main synephrine sources in a normal human diet. Two bitter orange dry extracts containing 5 and 6% sSynephrine and 10 sweet orange samples have been analyzed. Between the sweet orange samples, six were fresh oranges and four were fresh-squeezed juices; in these samples, the synephrine levels ranged from 0.00128 to 0.00349%.
authors.affiliation: Chemical and Pharmacological Research Area, Aboca S.p.A., Aboca 20, Sansepolcro (AR), Italy.
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mattoli
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cangi
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maidecchi
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ghiara
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tubaro
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Traldi
mesh_terms: D001628:Beverages / Q000032:analysis; D002138:Calibration; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D002957:Citrus / Q000737:chemistry*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000032:analysis; D012015:Reference Standards; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D013578:Synephrine / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D013578:Synephrine