Quantification
of a Botanical Negative Marker without
an Identical Standard: Ginkgotoxin
in <i>Ginkgo biloba</i>
- Publication date
- Publisher
Abstract
A new strategy for the analysis of
natural products uses a combination
of quantitative <sup>1</sup>H NMR (qHNMR) and adsorbent-free countercurrent
separation (CS) methodology to establish a quantification method for
ginkgotoxin (4′-<i>O</i>-methylpyridoxine) in <i>Ginkgo biloba</i> preparations. The target analyte was concentrated
in a one-step CS process using the ChMWat +2 solvent system (CHCl<sub>3</sub>–MeOH–H<sub>2</sub>O, 10:5:5) and subsequently
assayed by qHNMR. While commercial <i>G. biloba</i> seeds
contained 59 μg of ginkgotoxin per seed, the compound was below
the limit of detection (9 ppm) in a typical leaf extract. Due to the
enrichment potential and loss-free operation of CS, the combination
of CS and qHNMR is a generally suitable approach for threshold assays
aimed at quantifying target compounds such as botanical negative markers
at the low ppm level. As the proof of principle is demonstrated for
relatively small CS capacities (20 mL, 1:40 loading) and modest NMR
sensitivity (<i>n</i> = 16, 400 MHz, 5 mm RT probe), the
approach can be adapted to quantification at the ppb level. The procedure
enables the quantification of a botanical negative marker in the absence
of identical reference material, which otherwise is a prerequisite
for LC-based assays