title: Direct analysis of curcumin in turmeric by DART-MS.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The new ion source technique, direct analysis in real time (DART) atmospheric pressure ionisation, allows high resolution mass measurements of gas, liquid and solid samples. As DART-MS produces [M + H](+) molecular ions of most compounds, relatively simple and clear mass spectra are obtained even of multi-component samples. In order to take advantage of the capacity of DART-MS for the real time analysis of individual compounds in natural raw materials, a pilot study was performed using the well-known antioxidant botanical drug, turmeric.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To establish the analysis methods of curcumin and its derivatives from various types of samples with DART-MS and compare the efficiency of the method with traditional HPLC method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Different curcuminoids were successfully detected directly from the raw particles of Curcuma longa. When a turmeric extract was separated on a TLC plate, each band produced molecular ion peaks corresponding to curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin. Molecular ions of curcuminoids in turmeric-containing beverages and curry powder were also efficiently detected. In addition to high efficiency of qualitative analysis, the evaluation of its linearity showed that DART-MS can be applied for semi-quantitative determinations of curcumin over a large range (5-100 microg/mL).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A simple chemical profiling and semi-quantitative method for natural products using DART-MS might be applied to diverse field related quality control of medicinal plants or food ingredients.
authors.affiliation: Kyung Hee East-West Pharmaceutical Research Institute, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hye Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Young Pyo
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Jang
mesh_terms: D001272:Atmosphere; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D030024:Curcuma / Q000737:chemistry*; D003474:Curcumin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D036381:Diarylheptanoids; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D011312:Pressure; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D036381:Diarylheptanoids; D010936:Plant Extracts; C542281:bisdesmethoxycurcumin; D003474:Curcumin; C050229:demethoxycurcumin