Detection of berberine illegally adulterated in dietary supplement

Objective: To establish TLC,HPLC and LC-MS/MS methods for the detection of the illegal berberine adulteration in dietary supplement. Methods: Acetic ether-2-butanone-formic acid-water(15 ∶ 7 ∶ 1 ∶ 1) was used as the developing solvent in the TLC,and examined under ultraviolet light(365 nm). HPLC method was carried out using a Kromasil C 18 column(4. 6 mm × 250 mm,5 μm) and detected at 348 nm; The mobile phase was a mixture of acetonitrile-ion pair reagent(sodium 1-heptanesulfonate 0. 5056 g,containing 1. 4 mL triethylamine,pH was adjusted to 3. 5 ± 0. 05 using phosphoric acid),and the flow rate was 0. 8 mL·min-1. LC-MS method with ESI interface was employed and operated in positive ion mode in primary full and secondary selected ion scans. Results: In the TLC,the spot of berberine at 365 nm was clear,and the Rf value was appropriate. The linear range was 3. 435-69. 70 μg·mL-1 with a good correlation(r = 0. 9998),and the average recovery was 101. 2%. Conclusion: The method is selective and sensitive,which can be used for the detection of illegal berberine adulteration in dietary supplement.