Metabolite analysis and nucleoside determination using reproducible UHPLC-Q-ToF-IMS in Ophiocordyceps sinensis

AbstractA fast, reliable and reproducible UHPLC-IMS method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of eight nucleosides (adenine, adenosine, cordycepin, guanosine, inosine, thymidine, thymine and uracil) in natural Ophiocordyceps sinensis. Present study was conducted to determine the marker nucleoside contents in low quantities using the developed method. Methanol and water in combination were used as extraction solvents due to hydrophilic nature of nucleosides. These nucleosides showed good linearity (r2>0.99), LOD (0.28–0.97ng/mL), LOQ (0.79–3.20 ng/mL), recoveries (88.3 and 103.2%), reproducibility, stability and intra- and inter-day precision (<2.87%). Method was validated using three samples of natural Ophiocordyceps collected from different geographical region. PCA analysis depicted that adenine, adenosine, guanine, guanosine, uracil and uridine were major components contributing to total variance. Highest nucleosides content (5124 µg/g) was detected in STD-1. The presence of cord...