A sensitive and practical ELISA for analyzing naringenin in pummelo and herb samples

Naringenin, a flavonoid compound found in pummelo, is a key biological active compound in some traditional Chinese medicines, including Citri reticulatae pericarpium, Citri reticulatae pericarpium viride, Aurantii fructus immaturus, and Aurantii fructus. These Chinese medicinal preparations are the peels or immature fruits of certain citrus species. Aiming at detecting naringenin in complex matrices such as pummelo and traditional Chinese medicines, we put forward a sensitive and practical indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (icELISA) based on anti-naringenin monoclonal antibodies (anti-Nar-mAbs). The median inhibitory concentration (IC50) was 4.43 ng/mL, and the working range was 1.15–15.81 ng/mL. The findings of the icELISA for the analysis of naringenin in pummelo and herb samples had a good correlation with the ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) methodology and showed good accuracy and reproducibility. These data demonstrated that the developed icELISA is reliable, accurate, and suitable for detecting naringenin in pummelo and traditional Chinese medicines.