Determination of Unsaponifiable Constituents of Deodorizer Distillates by GC-MS

A New method for simultaneous qualitative and quantitative determination of amlodipine besylate and atorvastatin calcium in bulk and pharmaceutical formulations using transmission FT-IR spectroscopy

A simple, precise, rapid, and eco-friendly FTIR spectrophotometric method was developed and validated for simultaneous analysis of amlodipine (AML) and atorvastatin (ATV) in drug combination preparations. Firstly, synthetic mixtures were made and scanned with FTIR instrument. Then the result spectra were converted automatically to absorbance spectra. The calibration model was made depending on Beer's law which relates concentration to absorbance. Two characteristic bands corresponding to the carbonyl group at 1708-1688 cm^-1 and 1660-1632 cm^-1 for AML and ATV, respectively, were selected for quantification. The absorbance of a series of standards was measured as the AUC of the chosen bands. Then, the calibration line was obtained by plotting the measured AUCs and the actual concentrations against each other. Validation tests were performed per ICH recommendations. Specificity was evaluated by the separation of APIs and excipients from marketed preparations by methanol. Then, the spectra of extracted excipients, APIs, and pharmaceutical samples were taken and overlapped. The selected peaks were specific and did not interfere with each other or other peaks from the excipients used in the tablet's matrix. Linearity for AML and ATV was in the range of 0.1-1% w/w with excellent coefficients of determination (R²), 0.998 and 0.999 for AML and ATV, respectively. The proposed analytical method was accurate and precious, as the RSD values were less than 2%. The proposed FTIR method was successfully applied to estimate the exact quantity of APIs in pharmaceutical samples. Recoveries were accepted in accordance with USP and were in the range of 94.62-100.6% and 98.175-101.06% for AML and ATV, respectively. Likewise, the acquired results were compared with the HPLC method. And the t- and F- tests were calculated and compared with the theoretical values, which indicate the similarity of results in both developed and reported methods.

The Establishment of Tandem Mass Spectrometric Fingerprints of Phytosterols and Tocopherols and the Development of Targeted Profiling Strategies in Vegetable Oils

Phytosterols and tocopherols are essential for plant biochemistry, and they possess beneficial health effects for humans. Evaluating the tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS) behavior of phytosterols and tocopherols is needed for the development of a qualitative and quantitative method for these biologically active plant metabolites. Herein, the MS/MS dissociation behavior of phytosterols and tocopherols is elucidated to establish generalized MS/MS fingerprints. MS/MS and multistage (MS³) analysis revealed common fragmentation behavior among the four tested phytosterols, namely β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, campesterol, and brassicasterol. Similar analysis was conducted for the tocopherols (i.e., alpha (α), beta (β), gamma (γ), and delta (δ)). As such, a universal MS/MS fragmentation pathway for each group was successfully established for the first time. Based on the generalized MS/MS fragmentation behavior of phytosterols, diagnostic product ions were chosen for the development of profiling methods for over 20 naturally occurring phytosterols. A precursor ion scan-triggered-enhanced product ion scan (PIS-EPI) method was established. Due to enhanced chromatographic peaks, multiple ion monitoring-triggered-enhanced product ion scan (MIM-EPI) was employed for confirmation. The screening approach was applied successfully to identify blinded samples obtained from standard mixtures as well as sesame and olive oils. The oil samples contain other phytosterols, and their successful identification indicates that, the generalized MS/MS fragmentation behavior is applicable to various structures of phytosterols. A similar approach was attempted for tocopherols and was only hindered by the low concentration of these bioactive metabolites present in the oil samples.

Mass Spectrometric Approaches for the Analysis of Phytosterols in Biological Samples

Plant sterols (phytosterols) are important structural components of plant cellular membranes, and they play a major role during development and metabolism. They have health-associated benefits, especially in lowering blood cholesterol levels. Because of their many health claims, there is a growing interest in their analysis. Although various analytical strategies have been employed in analyzing phytosterols, chromatography linked to mass spectrometry (MS) is superior due to its sensitivity. Furthermore, specificity and selectivity are enhanced by utilizing tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). This article reviews the various mass spectrometric strategies used for the analysis of phytosterols. It highlights the applications and limitations associated with each MS strategy in various sample matrixes such as plant, human, animal, food, and dietary supplements. GC-MS was historically the method of choice for analysis; however, the derivatization step rendered it tedious and time-consuming. On the other hand, liquid chromatography coupled to MS (LC-MS) simplifies the analysis. Many ionization techniques have been used, namely, electrospray ionization (ESI), atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI), and atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI). APCI showed superiority in terms of ion intensity and consistency in ion formation, primarily forming [M + H - H₂O]⁺ ions rather than [M + H]⁺. In addition, matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) as well as ambient mass spectrometry such as direct analysis in real time (DART) have also been evaluated.

Vegetable Oil Deodorizer Distillate: A Rich Source of the Natural Bioactive Components

Deodorizer distillates are waste products of edible oil processing industries obtained during deodorization process of vegetable oils. It is very cheap source of several health beneficial components such as tocopherols, sterols, squalene as well as free fatty acids which have numerous industrial applications. These valuable components are being used in different foods, pharmaceutical formulations and cosmetics. Traditional sources of these useful components are vegetable oils, fruits, vegetables and nuts. Global need of these important components has been exceeded than their availability. The deodorizer distillates of various vegetable oils are considered to be a rich source of several valuable components. Present review will cover brief introduction of common processing stages involved in all vegetable oil processing, analytical methods for characterization of deodorizer distillates by instrumental techniques, importance and commercial value of deodorizer distillates. Future prospective of current field may leads to cost efficient processes and increased attention on the nutritional quality of deodorized oil and commercial applications of deodorizer distillates as well as their valuable components.

GC-MS and LC-MS approaches for determination of tocopherols and tocotrienols in biological and food matrices

Tocopherols and tocotrienols, widely described as vitamin E derivatives, have been proven to take part in a number of important biological functions. Among them, antioxidant properties had been investigated and documented in the literature. Since tocochromanols have revealed their plausible beneficial impact on several pathological processes, such as cancerogenesis or cognitive impairment diseases, there is a growing interest in quantitative determination of these compounds in biological fluids, tissues and plant organs. However, due to vitamin E chemical features, such as lipophilic and non-polar characteristics, quantitative determination of the compounds seems to be problematic. In this paper we present current analytical approaches in tocopherols and tocotrienols determination in biological and food matrices with the use of chromatographic techniques, especially gas chromatography (GC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with mass spectrometry. Derivatization techniques applied for GC-MS analysis in the case of tocol derivatives, especially silylation and acylation, are described. Significant attention is paid to ionization process of tocopherols and tocotrienols.