Analysis of monosaccharide composition in polysaccharides from Lycium barbarum L. by precolumn labeling under mild conditions and high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry

A method for the separation, identification, and determination of fructose and various aldehyde monosaccharides was established by precolumn labeling with 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP) and high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). The separation was performed on a Kromasil-C18 column (100 mm×4.6 mm, 3.5 μm) with gradient elution. The detection was performed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. In this study, the derivatization mechanism of PMP-labeled fructose was proposed under mild NH3·H2O conditions. The suggested method showed good linearity in the corresponding mass concentration ranges, with the correlation coefficients (r2) > 0.9947. The limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs) were in the ranges 0.003 to 0.05 mg/L and 0.01 to 0.15 mg/L, respectively. The recoveries in spiked Lycium barbarum L. samples were 65.1% to 116.2%, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of less than 10.2%. By virtue of its simplicity, high sensitivity, and good repeatability, the method could be successfully applied to the analysis of the monosaccharide composition in polysaccharides of Lycium barbarum L. from four planting areas. Results showed that the isolated polysaccharides comprise mannose, fructose, rhamnose, galactose, glucose, xylose, arabinose, and ribose. The concentration distribution of various monosaccharides differed notably depending on the planted environmention. The proposed method is expected to be of great significance in standardizing the quality control of polysaccharides.