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. 2019 Apr 28;24(9):1665.
doi: 10.3390/molecules24091665.

Rapid Determination of Amino Acids of Nitraria tangutorum Bobr. from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Using HPLC-FLD-MS/MS and a Highly Selective and Sensitive Pre-Column Derivatization Method

Wu Zhou  1   2 , Yuwei Wang  3 , Fang Yang  4 , Qi Dong  5   6 , Honglun Wang  7   8 , Na Hu  9   10
Affiliations

Rapid Determination of Amino Acids of Nitraria tangutorum Bobr. from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Using HPLC-FLD-MS/MS and a Highly Selective and Sensitive Pre-Column Derivatization Method

Wu Zhou et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Amino acids are indispensable components of living organisms. The high amino acid content in Nitraria tangutorum Bobr. fruit distinguishes it from other berry plants and is of great significance to its nutritional value. Herein, using 10-ethyl-acridine-3-sulfonyl chloride as a fluorescent pre-column labeling reagent, a method for the efficient and rapid determination of amino acid content in N. tangutorum by pre-column fluorescence derivatization and on-line mass spectrometry was established and further validated. The limits of detection (signal-to-noise ratio = 3) were between 0.13 and 1.13 nmol/L, with a linear coefficient greater than 0.997 and a relative standard deviation between 1.37% and 2.64%. In addition, the method required a short analysis time, separating 19 amino acids within 20 min. Subsequently, the method was used to analyze the amino acid content of Nitraria tangutorum Bobr. from tissues retrieved from seven regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Nitraria tangutorum Bobr. was shown to contain a large amount of amino acids, with the total content and main amino acid varying between the different tissues. This research supports the nutritional evaluation, quality control, and development and utilization of Nitraria tangutorum Bobr.

Keywords: HPLC-FLD-MS/MS; Nitraria tangutorum Bobr.; Qinghai-Tibet Plateau; amino acid; pre-column derivatization method; selective; sensitive.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Living environment and fruits of Nitraria tangutorum Bobr.
Figure 2
Figure 2
MS spectra of the representative phenylalanine derivative and fragmentation pattern of the protonated molecular ion.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Representative chromatograms for blank (A), standards (B) and the typical chromatograms for the amino acids derivatives in peel and pulp of Nitraria tangutorum Bobr. (C) peak labels: 1. cysteine HCl (Cys), 2. Histidine (His), 3. ornithine (Orn), 4. arginine (Arg), 5. lysine (Lys), 6. Serine (Ser), 7. aspartic acid (Asp), 8. glutamic acid (Glu), 9. threonine (Thr), 10. Glycine (Gly),11. tryptophan (Trp), 12. alanine (Ala), 13. tyrosine (Tyr), 14. proline (Pro), 15. methionine (Met), 16. valine (Val), 17. phenylalanine (Phe), 18 isoleucine (Ile and 19. leucine (Leu).
Scheme 1
Scheme 1
Synthesis process of the derivatized reagent EASC.
Scheme 2
Scheme 2
Derivatization reaction process of the derivatized reagent EASC and amino acid.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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