Determination of Lycopene in Dietary Supplements by High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A comprehensive analytical method based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(LC-MS/ MS) was developed for the determination of lycopene in dietary supplements.Samples were saponified to remove lipid,followed by vortex-assisted extraction with petroleum ether containing 1 g/100 mL 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol(BHT).The resulting extract was further cleaned up on a neutral alumina solid-phase extraction cartridge.The pooled eluate was determined on LC-MS/MS by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization coupled with a multiple reaction-monitoring(MRM) mode.Lycopene was quantified by external standard method.The limit of detection(LOD) was 10 μg/kg,and the limit of quantification(LOQ) was 100 μg/kg.The average recovery rates of lycopene across six spike levels,50.0,100.0,250.0,500.0,2500.0 μg/kg and 5000.0 μg/kg were 88.0%–103.1% with a relative standard deviation less than 15%(n=6).This method is sensitive and provides a new approach for the quantitative analysis and validation of lycopene in dietary supplements.