SIMULTANEOUS DETERMINATION OF FOUR FLAVONOID AGLYCONE ANALOGS IN THE INFLORESCENCE OF JUGLANS REGIA L. BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY-DIODE ARRAY DETECTION

Abstract

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a diode array detection method and a high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method were first developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of four flavonoid aglycone analogs in the inflorescence of Juglans regia L. grown in different areas of Gansu province, China, surmounting the challenges rising from the complexity of the matrices owing to different origins of the plant. The separation of the four compounds was accomplished through a ternary mobile phase, with good specificity and satisfactory resolution. The chromatographic peaks of the four investigated compounds were identified by comparing their retention time and mass spectrometric profile with the corresponding reference compounds. The method showed a good linearity (r2 > 0.9998), high precision (RSD <5%), and recoveries (ranged from 96.6–102.7%) were acceptable. The limits of detection (LOD) and the limits of quantification (LOQ) are ranged from 0.26–0.58 µg/ml and from 0.86–1.90 µg/ml, respectively. The results demonstrated that this analytical approach is ideal for the determination of such bioactive compounds as flavonoid aglycones, and that it constructed a basis for the comprehensive evaluation of the quality of Juglans regia L.