Meng Caifeng, Han Qingjie, Wang Xin, Liu Xiaochen, Fan Xueyan, Liu Ruina, Wang Qiao, Wang Chunying
Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis Research, College of Pharmacy, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, PR China.
J Chromatogr Sci. 2019 May 1;57(5):426-433. doi: 10.1093/chromsci/bmz012.
A hybrid quadruple linear ion trap liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) analytical method has been developed for simultaneous determination of 13 nucleosides from Cordyceps cicadae and Cordyceps sinensis for assessing whether C. cicadae can become a substitute for C. sinensis, based on that C. cicadae has in common with C. sinensis for treating chronic diseases. Among the 13 compounds, three compounds including cytidine, hypoxanthine and 2'-deoxyguanosine were firstly identified and quantified in C. cicadae. Ideal separation was achieved in one single LC-MS-MS run of 12 min by optimized chromatographic conditions. The identification and quantification analysis of target compounds were performed in electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. The limit of detection and quantity for 13 compounds were <42.0 and 84.2 ng/mL, respectively. The determination results of 12 batches of C. sinensis and 20 batches of C. cicadae were then analyzed and classified by multivariate statistical analysis. C. cicadae contained a relatively higher level of three nucleosides (cytidine, uracil and 2'-deoxyuridine) than those in C. sinensis. The results of this study provided the theoretical basis for the substitution of C. sinensis with C. cicadae. The optimized method could be used for the quality control and investigate bioactive compound variation of Cordyceps.
已开发出一种混合四极杆线性离子阱液相色谱 - 串联质谱（LC-MS-MS）分析方法，用于同时测定蝉花和冬虫夏草中的13种核苷，基于蝉花与冬虫夏草在治疗慢性病方面的共性，评估蝉花是否可替代冬虫夏草。在这13种化合物中，胞苷、次黄嘌呤和2'-脱氧鸟苷这三种化合物首次在蝉花中被鉴定和定量。通过优化色谱条件，在12分钟的单次LC-MS-MS运行中实现了理想的分离。目标化合物的鉴定和定量分析在电喷雾电离串联质谱中进行。13种化合物的检测限和定量限分别<42.0和84.2 ng/mL。然后通过多元统计分析对12批次冬虫夏草和20批次蝉花的测定结果进行分析和分类。蝉花中三种核苷（胞苷、尿嘧啶和2'-脱氧尿苷）的含量相对高于冬虫夏草。本研究结果为用蝉花替代冬虫夏草提供了理论依据。该优化方法可用于冬虫夏草的质量控制和生物活性化合物变化研究。
