Analysis and evaluation of fatty acid in rattan tea by highly selective and sensitive HPLC- FLD-MS method coupled with pre-column fluorescent labeling

Abstract

Rattan tea regarded as one of the most promising dietary supplements for the prevention and treatment of many chronic diseases has gained extensive attention. Free fatty acids play an important role in human body as essential nutrients. Contents of 31 free fatty acids in Rattan Tea were firstly investigated using toluene-4-sulfonic acid 2-(naphthalene-1-yl-phenyl-amino)- ethyl ester as pre-column fluorescence derivatization reagent by RE-HPLC coupled with an atmospheric chemical ionization-mass spectrometry source (APCI/MS). The results indicated that lower values of LOD (0.52-1.53 ng mL-1) provided the guarantee for trace analysis and evaluation of free fatty acids. The experimental recoveries were in the range of 88.9-103.6 %. Results of the present study indicated the highest free fatty acids content of Rattan Tea was in April. Thirteen free fatty acids were found, including C18:2w6, C18:3w3, w6 and C20:4w6 essential to life. The developed method exhibited powerful potential for the systematic detection of bioactive components of medicinal plants.