An indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay toward the standardization of Pueraria candollei based on its unique isoflavonoid, kwakhurin.

Kwakhurin (Kwa) is a plant secondary metabolite solely present in Pueraria candollei var. mirifica (P. candollei), which has long been used as a Thai traditional herb for estrogen replacement therapy. Recently, health hazards have arisen in Japan regarding P. candollei-derived products containing potent estrogenic compounds. Therefore, the development of standardization methods for P. candollei materials is an urgent problem requiring resolution. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is an effective analytical technique because it enables the development of sensitive and specific assays of the target compound through antigen-antibody reaction. Here, we produced a monoclonal antibody against Kwa (MAb 11F) by immunizing Kwa-bovine serum albumin (BSA) conjugates prepared using an N,N'-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) mediated method. Stability and cross-reactivity tests of MAb 11F revealed that the MAb 11F is stable for at least 4 months at 4 °C and is highly specific to Kwa. The detectable concentration range of an indirect competitive ELISA (icELISA) using MAb 11F exhibited values of 1.53-48.8 ng/mL with the limit of detection (LOD) of 1.13 ng/mL. Validation analyses revealed that the developed icELISA is precise, accurate, and reliable enough to be applied to P. candollei-derived samples and products for their standardization.