Study on the Stability of Six Alkaloids in Uncaria Decoction
OBJECTIVE To develop an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(UHPLC-MS/MS)method for determination of hynchophylline,isorhynchophylline,isocorynoxeine,corynoxeine,hirsutine and hirsuteine in Uncaria decoction,and investigate the effect of different storage conditions on the stability of active ingredients.METHODS An UHPLC-MS/MS method was established to investigate the effects of different storage temperature and time on the stability of six active components in Uncaria decoction.Separation was performed with a gradient mobile phase system of acetonitrile-0.1%formic water solution,the flow rate was 0.4 mL·min-1,the temperature of column was 30 ℃,the injection volume was 2 μL,the MS detection was dynamic multiple reaction monitoring mode.The effects of different storage temperature and time on the stability of six active components in Uncaria decoction was investigated.RESULTS Rhynchophylline,isorhynchophylline,corynoxeine,isocorynoxeine,hirsutine and hirsuteine were successfully separated using this method,with good linear relationship in the corresponding concentration range.The precision,repeatability,stability and recovery rate were good.The six alkaloids were basically stable within 14 d under low temperature storage,basically stable within 3 d under normal temperature storage,and not stable under high temperature storage.CONCLUSION The UHPLC-MS/MS method is stable,rapid and reproducible.It can be used to determine the contents of six effective components in Uncaria decoction.Cold storage is beneficial to the stability of Uncaria decoction.