Determination of Five Aminoalcohol-diterpenoid Alkaloids in the Lateral Root of Aconitum carmichaeli by HPLC-ELSD with SPE.

A convenient and accurate high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with evaporative light scattering detection (HPLC-ELSD) method using solid phase extraction (SPE) was established for quantification of five aminoalcohol-diterpenoid alkaloids (ADAs), including mesaconine, aconine, hypaconine, fuziline and neoline, in the lateral roots of Aconitum carmichaeli (Fuzi) for the first time. The Fuzi extractive was purified using strong cation-exchange SPE. The chromatographic separation was performed on a Gemini C18 column (150 × 4.60 mm, 5 μm) with the mobile phase of methanol-water-diethylamine (48:52:0.01, v/v/v), adjusted to pH 10.2 with acetic acid. The detector was Alltech ELSD 2000ES (drift tube temperature: 90°C; gas flow-rate: 2.3 L/min). Five ADAs in Fuzi were well separated. The calibration curves showed good linearity (r > 0.9990) in the range of 0.0125-0.3750 mg/mL for each alkaloid. The recoveries were in the range of 95.1-105.7%, with relative standard deviations < 5.0%. This method is accurate, specific and repeatable for the determination of five ADAs in different Fuzi samples, which can be applied to the quality control of Fuzi.