Chemometrics and antioxidant activity assisted nontargeted metabolomics for the identification of ginger species.

An ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ion mobility quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry method was developed for the separation and identification of phenols, organic acids, flavonoids and curcumin in different species of ginger. The parameters affecting the separation and response of liquid chromatography, including the stationary phase and mobile phase, were systematically investigated and optimized. To further identify the differential metabolites in the six types of samples, a chemometric approach was introduced. Principal component analysis, cluster analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis were used to identify the major components in the samples and to compare the compositional differences between the various samples. In addition, antioxidant experiments were designed to investigate the differences in antioxidant activity among the six ginger samples. The method showed good linearity (R2 ≥0.9903), satisfactory precision (RSD% ≤ 4.59 %), low LOD (0.35-25.86 ng/mL) and acceptable recovery (78-109 %) and reproducibility (RSD% ≤ 4.20 %). Therefore, the method has great potential for application in the compositional analysis and quality control of ginger.

Nanographite-assisted matrix solid phase dispersion microextraction of active and toxic compounds from complex food matrices using cyclodextrin aqueous solution as elution solvent.

In this study, a cyclodextrin aqueous solution was used as an environmentally friendly eluent to simultaneously extract active and toxic compounds from food matrices with the aid of nanographite-assisted matrix solid phase dispersion microextraction (NG-MSPDM). The NG-MSPDM procedure was optimized by single-factor experiments and response surface methodology to obtain optimum conditions. The proposed method achieved excellent linearity at 0.10-20 µg/mL for all target analytes with a coefficient of correction (R2) ≥ 0.9909, limits of detection < 52.01 ng/mL, satisfactory reproducibility below 3.21 %, and acceptable recoveries of 82.0-112 %. To accurately determine the target components in the complex matrix, collision cross-section values of the analytes were obtained using ion mobility quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (IM-Q-TOF/MS). Results indicated that the NG-MSPDM method successfully achieved the simultaneous extraction of flavonoids and phenoxyacetic herbicides from Alpinia officinarum.

Rapid stacking of amino acids in soybean and Dendrobium officinale by on-capillary sandwich derivatization in capillary electrophoresis.

An online sandwich derivatization and stacking strategy using capillary electrophoresis was developed and successfully applied to the preconcentration of multi-amino acids in two functional food samples. Amino acids were derived with 4-Chloro-7-nitro-1, 2, 3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-Cl) to make the new compounds with chromophore in the stacking process, then the derivatives were stacked by on-column sample preconcentration and detected at 475 nm UV wavelength. The novel sandwich injection sequence was amino acids, NBD-Cl, and amino acids separately. Additionally, the running buffer was 40 mM borax buffer (pH = 9.0). A succession of derivatization and stacking conditions were optimized, including buffer concentration, pressure, NBD-Cl injection time, waiting time, matrix concentration, and sample injection time. In the appropriate range, good linearity values (R2) were obtained for nine amino acids at 0.996-0.999. Intra-day and inter-day precision with a relative standard deviation < 6.23 % (n = 5), the limit of detection in the range of 2.8-25.2 µM, and recovery ranging from 83.2 to 108.2 % were obtained. Besides, the enrichment factors were in range of 8-62 for nine AAs. The stacking approach was successfully applied to soybean and Dendrobium officinale samples, which shows great potential in the determination of free amino acids in samples containing complex matrices.

Simultaneous capture of hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds from complex plants by biosurfactant-assisted mechanical amorphous dispersion extraction.

A biosurfactant-assisted mechanical amorphous dispersion extraction (BA-MADE) procedure was established for the simultaneous capture of hydrophilic phenolic acids and hydrophobic tanshinones from Salvia miltiorrhiza. Single-factor experiments and the response surface methodology were used to optimize and analyze the crucial parameters for the method, such as the type and amount of amorphous-dispersion extractants, grinding time, extraction time and solid-to-liquid ratio. The optimized parameter values for the BA-MADE process were 407.02 mg of sodium chenodeoxycholate, a grinding time of 4.87 min, an extraction time of 4.92 min, and a solid-to-liquid ratio of 0.5:10 g/mL. The calibration curves of danshensu, rosmarinic acid, lithospermic acid, salvianolic acid B, salvianolic acid A, dihydrotanshinone I, cryptotanshinone, tanshinone I, and tanshinone II A exhibited good linearity in the range of 1-500 µg/mL (R2 ≥ 0.9990). The limits of detection of nine analytes ranged from 5.46 to 130 ng/mL, the relative standard deviations (RSDs) of intraday and interday precision were less than 1.95 and 3.56%, respectively, and the recoveries of the real sample were in the range of 85-113%, with RSD% below 3.21%. The BA-MADE method was compared with previously reported methods, such as heating reflux extraction, ultrasonic extraction and microwave-assisted micellar extraction, and the results demonstrated that the developed method has significant advantages in the simultaneous extraction of hydrophilic and hydrophobic active components from Salvia miltiorrhiza.

Optimization of mechanically assisted coamorphous dispersion extraction of hydrophobic compounds from plant tea (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium) using water.

This study aimed to establish a novel mechanically assisted coamorphous dispersion extraction (MADE) method for the extraction of hydrophobic compounds (hesperidin, nobiletin and tangeretin) from Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium using water. The surface morphology, particle size distributions, phase states and functional groups of the coground product surface were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The parameters affecting the efficiency of extraction method were optimized by single-factor experiments and response surface methodology. The method showed good linear relationships in the range of 1-500 µg/mL with correlation coefficients (R2) ≥ 0.9990, low limits of detection ranging from 3.0 to 28.3 ng/mL, and acceptable recoveries ranging from 87.0 to 91.0%. Therefore, the proposed MADE method is a promising, efficient and organic solvent-free method for the extraction of hydrophobic compounds from plant tea.

The two-phase amphiphilic preconcentration based on surfactants to enrich phenolic compounds from diluted plant extracts and rat urine by micellar electrokinetic chromatography.

A novel technology by two-phase amphiphilic preconcentration based on surfactants was established for enriching phenolic compounds by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). The cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) was combined with the anionic analytes that existed in the sample solution before injection. The boundary was formed between CTAC and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in the background solution when the sample solution was injected into the capillary, where the analytes bound inside micelles were released due to the stronger electrostatic force between SDS and CTAC. This procedure accelerated the separation of analytes from CTAC and greatly improved the enrichment efficiency. The optimal conditions were obtained after a series of optimizations, and the sensitivity enrichment factors of the four analytes were in the range of 39-93 compared to typical injections in capillary zone electrophoresis. Good linearity for matrix-matched calibrations was established for all analytes with R2 values of 0.9993-0.9997. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) for kaempferol, quercetin, salvianolic acid C, and salvianolic acid B were 0.0166, 0.0292, 0.0215, and 0.0195 µg/ml, respectively. The intracapillary RSDs of the analytes ranged from 0.8% to 1.3% for migration time and from 0.4% to 1.8% for peak areas. The developed method was successfully applied to the determination of phenolic compounds, the main compounds of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge., and had been validated for the determination of spiked recoveries in rat urine.

Two-step micelle-to-solvent stacking of arsenic species from foods in permanently coated tubing for capillary electrophoresis.

An effective and sensitive two-step stacking of arsenic species by electrokinetic injection and micelle-to-solvent stacking (MSS) using zwitterionic surfactant 3-(N,N-dimethylpalmitylammonio) propane sulfonate was successfully developed in a co-electro-osmotic flow (co-EOF) capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). The fused silica capillaries were coated with 1% hexadimethrine bromide solution to satisfy the condition of the same EOF direction between the test anions and capillary. The background solution was 100 mM borax buffer (pH 9.2). The proposed method was performed by a CZE system equipped with a diode array detector, and the detection wavelength was monitored at 192 nm. The separation voltage was -20 kV. The group of micelles and target analytes was stacked by field-enhanced sample injection at -10 kV for 180 s. The second stacking step used 60% MeOH to serve as an organic solvent where the analytes were brought by the micelles to the MSS boundary. The enrichment factors of As(Ⅴ), As(Ⅲ), disodium methyl arsonate hexahydrate (MMA), and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) were 1230, 840, 3820, and 1450, respectively, compared to typical injections in CZE. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) ranged from 0.382 to 0.911 ng mL-1. The intracapillary repeatabilities (%RSD, n = 3) were 0.5-1.0% for migration time and 0.3-0.7% for peak areas. The technology of two-step stacking by MSS in co-EOF CZE together with a simple extraction procedure for As(Ⅴ), As(Ⅲ), MMA and DMA were demonstrated in kelp and rice samples.

Boron nitride nanosheet-assisted matrix solid-phase dispersion microextraction of alkaloids from lotus plumule by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultraviolet detection and ion mobility quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

A boron nitride nanosheet (BNNS)-assisted matrix solid-phase dispersion method was established to microextract alkaloids from medicinal plants. The target compounds were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultraviolet detection and ion mobility quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. During the experimental process, several important parameters, including the type of dispersant, the amount of dispersant, the grinding time, and the type of elution solvent, were optimized. Finally, the BNNSs were chosen as the best dispersant, and their microcosmic morphologies were identified by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Because of the special property of BNNSs, the cost of this experiment was greatly reduced, especially in elution volume, sample amount (50 mg), and extraction time (2 min). Under the best conditions, 50 mg of sample powder was dispersed with 50 mg of BNNSs, the grinding time was 120 s, the mixed powder was eluted with 200 µL of methanol, and good linearity (r2  > 0.9993) and satisfactory recoveries (80-100%) were obtained. The inter- and intraday precisions were acceptable, with RSDs lower than 2.01 and 4.84%, respectively. The limits of detection ranged from 2.54 to 15.00 ng/mL, and the limits of quantitation were 8.47 to 50.00 ng/mL. The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of liensinine, isoliensinine, and neferine in lotus plumule.

In situ antioxidation-assisted matrix solid-phase dispersion microextraction and discrimination of chiral flavonoids from citrus fruit via ion mobility quadrupole time-of-flight high-resolution mass spectrometry.

A simple and sensitive in situ antioxidation process assisted with a matrix solid-phase dispersion method for extracting chiral flavonoids in citrus fruit was established, and samples were further analyzed using ion mobility quadrupole time-of-flight high-resolution mass spectrometry. The collision cross-sections of the target compounds were studied using single-field and stepped-field methods. The optimal conditions were obtained using 30 mg of C18 as a dispersant, methanol as an elution solvent and 0.6 mM 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) as a radical solution. Additionally, the method showed satisfactory limits of detection (3.70-6.52 ng/mL) and good recoveries (96.78-104.67%) for four flavonoids in citrus fruit. The IC50 values of DPPH radical-scavenging activities ranged from 817.8 to 981.55 µg/mL for tested samples. The method was a good alternative for the microextraction and determination of antioxidant capacity and chiral differentiation of narirutin, naringin, hesperidin and neohesperidin in citrus fruit.