Simultaneous Determination of Buddleoside, Rosmarinic Acid and Chlorogenic Acid by LC–MS/MS for Quality Control of Yinpujiedu Commercial Products

A simple LC–MS/MS method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous quantitative analysis of buddleoside, rosmarinic acid and chlorogenic acid in “yinpujiedu” tablets, which are composed of five plant components, such as Lonicera hypoglauca Miq., Caprifoliaceae, Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.-Mazz., Asteraceae, Chrysanthemum indicum L., Asteraceae, Viola philippica Cav., Violaceae, and Prunella vulgaris L., Lamiaceae. Analysis were performed on the BEH C-18 column (1.7 μm 2.1 × 50 mm) using acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid in 10 mM ammonium acetate in water at a rate of 0.200 ml/min as eluent, and mass spectrometric detection was accomplished in positive electrospray ionization. Linearity of buddleoside, rosmarinic acid and chlorogenic acid were evaluated in the range of 5–1500 μg/ml, 4–800 μg/ml and 4–800 μg/ml, respectively. The inter-day and intra-day precisions were within 6.1%, and the extraction recoveries of buddleoside, rosmarinic acid and chlorogenic acid ranged from 97 to 99.4%. The analytical method was accurate and in line with the provisions of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. In this study, a LC–MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of buddleoside, rosmarinic acid and chlorogenic acid was first developed and validated, and the assay was suitable for the quality control of Yinpujiedu commercial products.Graphical abstract