Determination of 7 Kinds of Alkaloids in Semen Nelumbinis and Its Products by HPLC

Objective: To establish a method for the simultaneous determination of seven alkaloids in Semen Nelumbinis and its products, the extraction technology and HPLC method were optimized by the single factor experiment. Methods: Firstly, the samples were extracted ultrasonically with 1% formic acid ethanol and purified by PXC SPE column. Then, the extracts and the purified liquid were taken after concentration with nitrogen for quantitative analysis of seven alkaloids by HPLC method. Next, the contents of alkaloids in five samples were determined. Results: The method was fully validated and the result showed that seven kinds of alkaloids had good linear relation in the corresponding range of mass concentration, r(2) > 0.999, where the detection limit was 0.5-1.5 mg/kg, the quantification limit was 1.25-4.5 mg/kg, the recovery was 83.33-116.04%, and the RSD of detection method was 1.06-5.25% (n = 7). In five samples, the contents of Lotusine and Neferine were the highest, Berberine Hydrochloride was not detected. Conclusion: This method is simple, sensitive, accurate and reproducible, and it can realize the quantitative analysis and chemical separation of seven kinds of common alkaloids in Semen Nelumbinis and its products and provide a theoretical method for the simultaneous determination of alkaloids. The extraction yields of alkaloids in Semen Nelumbinis can be increased through the extraction process, which is optimized by a single factor experiment.

Automated summary

In this study, a method for the simultaneous determination of seven alkaloids in Semen Nelumbinis and its products was established. The extraction process and HPLC method were optimized using a single factor experiment. The results showed that the method had good linearity and could accurately quantify the alkaloids in the samples. Lotusine and Neferine were found to be the most abundant alkaloids in the samples.