Nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis coupled with laser-induced native fluorescence detection for the analysis of berberine, palmatine, and jatrorrhizine in Chinese herbal medicines.

LIF detection is one of the most sensitive detection methods for CE. However, its application is limited because the analyte is usually required to be derivatized with a fluorescent label. As a result, LIF is seldom used to analyze active ingredients in plants. In this work, we introduce a rapid, simple, and sensitive method of nonaqueous CE (NACE) coupled with laser-induced native fluorescence detection for the simultaneous analysis of berberine, palmatine, and jatrorrhizine. This method skillfully utilizes the native fluorescence of these alkaloids and requires no troublesome fluorescent derivatization. As these alkaloids can fluoresce to some degree, they were simply detected by a commercially available 488 nm Ar+ laser. The native fluorescence of the analytes was greatly enhanced by nonaqueous media. Compared with the reported UV detection method, much lower LOD was achieved (6.0 ng/mL for berberine, 7.5 ng/mL for palmatine, and 380 ng/mL for jatrorrhizine). This method was successfully applied to analyze berberine, palmatine, and jatrorrhizine in two Chinese herbal medicines, Rhizoma coptidis and Caulis mahoniae.