Determination of 1-deoxynojirimycin in the Larvae of the Silkworm, Bombyx mori, by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

1-Deoxynojirimycin, known to be one of the most potent α-glycosidase inhibitors, has been used as an antihyperglycemia agent. In this study, a rapid method for the determination of 1-deoxynojirimycin in the larvae of the silkworm, Bombyx mori was established, using high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with fluorescence detection after derivatization with 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate. The 1-deoxynojirimycin was efficiently extracted from the larvae using 0.05 mol/L hydrochloric acid, vortexing for 15 s at room temperature, followed by sonication for 30 min. The linear dynamic range extended from 0.7 to 28 µg/mL (r = 0.9999). The average recovery of the 1-deoxynojirimycin was 104% with a relative standard deviation of 3.30%. The limit of detection was 0.05 µg/mL at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. There were high concentrations of 1-deoxynojirimycin in the larvae, reaching 0.50% of total body mass in the gluttonous stage of the third instar and significant variation in the fifth instar, suggests that the larvae may be a valuable source of 1-deoxynojirimycin for the treatment of carbohydrate-mediated disorders.