title: Fast separation of triterpenoid saponins using supercritical fluid chromatography coupled with single quadrupole mass spectrometry.
abstract: Triterpenoid saponins (TSs) are the most important components of some traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) and have exhibited valuable pharmacological properties. In this study, a rapid and efficient method was developed for the separation of kudinosides, stauntosides and ginsenosides using supercritical fluid chromatography coupled with single quadrupole mass spectrometry (SFC-MS). The separation conditions for the selected TSs were carefully optimized after the initial screening of eight stationary phases. The best compromise for all compounds in terms of chromatographic performance and MS sensitivity was obtained when water (5-10%) and formic acid (0.05%) were added to the supercritical carbon dioxide/MeOH mobile phase. Beside the composition of the mobile phase, the nature of the make-up solvent for interfacing SFC with MS was also evaluated. Compared to reversed phase liquid chromatography, the SFC approach showed higher resolution and shorter running time. The developed SFC-MS methods were successfully applied to the separation and identification of TSs present in Ilex latifolia Thunb., Panax quinquefolius L. and Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer. These results suggest that this SFC-MS approach could be employed as a useful tool for the quality assessment of natural products containing TSs as active components.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of Traditional Chinese Medicine & New Drug Research, Jinan University Guangzhou 510632, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of Traditional Chinese Medicine & New Drug Research, Jinan University Guangzhou 510632, China.
authors.forename: Tingting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of Traditional Chinese Medicine & New Drug Research, Jinan University Guangzhou 510632, China.
authors.forename: Haibo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of Traditional Chinese Medicine & New Drug Research, Jinan University Guangzhou 510632, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of Traditional Chinese Medicine & New Drug Research, Jinan University Guangzhou 510632, China.
authors.forename: Chunlin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of Traditional Chinese Medicine & New Drug Research, Jinan University Guangzhou 510632, China.
authors.forename: Weijia
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of Traditional Chinese Medicine & New Drug Research, Jinan University Guangzhou 510632, China; Laboratory of Analytical Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Liege, CHU B36, B-4000 Liege, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Crommen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of Traditional Chinese Medicine & New Drug Research, Jinan University Guangzhou 510632, China. Electronic address: jzjjackson@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Zhengjin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D056148:Chromatography, Reverse-Phase / Q000379:methods; D025924:Chromatography, Supercritical Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D000432:Methanol / Q000737:chemistry; D012503:Saponins / Q000737:chemistry*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D014315:Triterpenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D012503:Saponins; D012997:Solvents; D014315:Triterpenes; D014867:Water; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D000432:Methanol
keywords: Supercritical fluid chromatography; Traditional Chinese medicines; Triterpenoid saponins