Analysis of dencichine in Panax notoginseng by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry with ethyl chloroformate derivatization

Abstract

Dencichine (beta-N-oxalyl-l-alpha,beta-diaminopropionic acid) is a haemostatic agent present in well-known traditional Chinese medicinal herbs such as Panax notoginseng, as well as other Panax species. It is also a reported neurotoxic agent found in Lathyrus sativus (grass pea seed) and cycad seeds. A method was developed for quantitative determination of the non-protein amino acid, dencichine, in plant samples of P. notoginseng and the adventitious roots directly from the explants of P. notoginseng after derivatization with ethyl chloroformate (ECF) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). l-2-chlorophenylalanine was used as an internal standard. Calibration curves were linear (r(2)=0.9988, n=6) in the range of 10-800 microg/ml for dencichine. Limit of detection and quantification for dencichine were 0.5 microg/ml and 2 microg/ml, respectively. This rapid and specific method may be applied to the quantification of dencichine in complex medicinal plants and their products.

Non-protein amino acids: plant, soil and ecosystem interactions

“…This brings a significant warning that NPAAs can not only bioaccumulate, but can create significant health issues. Another C 5 NPAA dencichine found in all parts of Lathyrus sativus and cycads is a neurotoxin to higher animals (Xie et al 2007) and has been shown to be the causative principle of the motor neuron disease, lathyrism (Campbell et al 1994). Canavanine (C 5 ) is synthetised in many leguminous plants and plays a seminal role in plant chemical defence against insects (Rosenthal and Dahlman 1986).…”

Comparative study on volatile oils of four Panax genus species in Southeast Asia by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

“…Till the end of 2012, at least 289 saponins were reported among eleven different Panax species (Yang et al, 2014). However, little attention was devoted to the other compounds of the four Panax species Xie et al, 2007). Analysis of plant volatiles is a significant and growing area, as volatile constituents present in plant materials are increasingly recognized to possess aromatic, anti-fungal, insecticidal, biological signaling and therapeutic properties that are of great interest to the perfume, cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical industries (Jalali et al, 2012;Kunert et al, 2002;Leao et al, 2014;Piras et al, 2013;Vercammen et al, 2001).…”

A Sensitive HPLC-MS/MS Analysis of Dencichine in Rat Plasma and Its Application to Pharmacokinetics

“…Most of the previous analytical methods were developed for the determination of dencichine in food or seed samples [8][9][10][11][12][13]. And the recent reports about the determination of dencichine were all using the method of derivatization [4,14,15]. As is known to all, derivation was an effective way to enhance signal intensity.…”