A strategy for the identification of plants in illegal pharmaceutical preparations and food supplements using chromatographic fingerprints

• Published in: Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry Vol. 405; no. 7; pp. 2341 - 2352
• Main Authors: Deconinck, E., De Leersnijder, C., Custers, D., Courselle, P., De Beer, J. O.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01-03-2013; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analytical Chemistry; Biochemistry; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemical properties; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chromatography; Chromatography - methods; Composition; Counterfeit Drugs - chemistry; Counterfeiting; Crataegus - chemistry; Dietary supplements; Evaporative; Feasibility studies; Fingerprints; Food; Food Science; Identification; Identification and classification; Illegal; Illegal drugs; Internet; Laboratories; Laboratory Medicine; Lactose; Light scattering; Markets; Mass Spectrometry; Materia medica, Vegetable; Methods; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Natural products; Original Paper; Passiflora - chemistry; Pharmaceutical chemistry; Pharmaceuticals; Plant extracts; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plants (organisms); Rhamnus - chemistry; Scientific imaging; Belgium; Netherlands; Germany; Diode-array detection; Mass spectrometry; Evaporative light scattering detection; Illegal herbal products; Chromatographic fingerprints
• ISSN: 1618-2642; 1618-2650
• DOI: 10.1007/s00216-012-6649-4

The detection of regulated and forbidden herbs in pharmaceutical preparations and nutritional supplements is a growing problem for laboratories charged with the analysis of illegal pharmaceutical preparations and counterfeit medicines. This article presents a feasibility study of the use of chromatographic fingerprints for the detection of plants in pharmaceutical preparations. Fingerprints were developed for three non-regulated common herbal products—
Rhamnus purshiana
,
Passiflora incarnata
L. and
Crataegus monogyna
—and this was done by combining three different types of detection: diode-array detection, evaporative light scattering detection and mass spectrometry. It is shown that these plants could be detected in respective triturations of the dry extracts with lactose and three different herbal matrices as well as in commercial preparations purchased on the open market.
Figure
Detection of
Passiflora incarnata
in three commercial preparations using chromatographic fingerprints