Rapid determination of alkaloids in Macleaya cordata using ionic liquid extraction followed by multiple reaction monitoring UPLC–MS/MS analysis

Abstract

The ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) and ionic liquid based dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (IL-DLLME) have been successfully applied in extracting of six alkaloids from M. cordata. 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([C6MIM][BF4]) aqueous solution was used as extraction solvent. The target analytes in raw material were deposited into a single drop of 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C6MIM][PF6]), which was in situ formed by mixing [C6MIM][BF4] and potassium hexafluorophosphate ([K][PF6]. Afterwards, the extract was analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) in multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The proposed method was fully validated in terms of linearity (0.9983–0.9992), LOD (0.080ngmL−1), LOQ (0.25ngmL−1), intra-day precision (<5.46%), inter-day precision (<6.36%), and recovery (86.42–112.48%). The results indicate that the approach of combining IL-DLLME with UPLC–MS/MS is powerful and practical for analyzing alkaloids in M. cordata., and it also has great potential for comprehensive quality control of other herbal medicines.