Abstract

 
 
 
 Purpose: To develop a reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the determination of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in dietary supplements.
 Methods: A reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for the determination of DHEA in dietary supplements. An isocratic system consisting of methanol and water (70:30 v/v) was run at a flow rate of 1 mL/min on a C18 HPLC column to achieve the separation. The method was validated with regard to linearity, intra-day and inter-day precision, and limits of both detection and quantification.
 Results: The method achieved a retention time of 10.8 min, a resolution of 4.12, a detection limit (LOD) of 50 ng/μL, a quantification limit (LOQ) of 166.7 ng/μL and a label claim of 108.6 % with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 0.38 % over a range of 0.0625 – 0.50 mg/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9997.
 Conclusion: The method is simple, cost effective, time-saving and reliable for determining DHEA when compared to other reported methods in literature. Thus, it will be of benefit to manufacturers of this dietary supplement to adopt the method for quantitative laboratory analysis.
 
 
 
Highlights
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA; Figure 1), known as Prasterone, is a major endogenous steroid hormone that functions mainly as a metabolic intermediate in the biosynthesis of androgenic and estrogenic sex steroids [1]
Various conditions were optimized during the method development to achieve appropriate, fast, and accurate method for the determination of DHEA in dietary supplements
Mobile phase composed of methanol:water (70:30 v/v) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min at 210 nm generated a sharp peak at a reasonable retention time in both the standard DHEA solution and the tested DHEA dietary supplement solution (Figure 2 and Figure 3)
Summary
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA; Figure 1), known as Prasterone, is a major endogenous steroid hormone that functions mainly as a metabolic intermediate in the biosynthesis of androgenic and estrogenic sex steroids [1]. The production of DHEA is highly affected by age as it reaches its peak between the ages of 20 and 30. After that, it steadily declines and by the ages of 70 to 80, DHEA levels drops to about 10 - 20 % of what it usually is in a young adult [2]. DHEA supplementation energizes athletes and people that perform regular physical activities, improves memory, enhances concentration and attention, activates the immune system and increases testosterone levels [3]. The available formulae of DHEA could include it as a sole active ingredient, or it could be combined with other steroidal or vitamin supplements. DHEA could be combined with some herbal extracts, such as gingko, ginseng and yohimbine [1]
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