An Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometric Method for the Simultaneous Determination of Eighteen Marker Compounds in the Traditional Herbal Formula Bopyeo-Tang

Bopyeo-tang (BPT), comprising six medicinal plants, has been used for the treatment of respiratory diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In this study, we developed and validated a quantitative method for the quality assessment of BPT using ultra-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Eighteen marker compounds were separated on an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 reversed-phase column (2.1 mm x 100 mm, 1.7 mu m) via gradient elution with a 0.1% aqueous formic acid-acetonitrile mobile phase. The multiple-reaction monitoring mode was used to improve analysis speed and accuracy. The coefficients of determination, limits of detection, and limits of quantitation of the 18 marker compounds were 0.9991-0.9996, 0.36-24.45 mu g/L, and 1.07-73.35 mu g/L, respectively. The recovery was 85.19-110.25%, and the relative standard deviation of precision was <= 9.01%. When applied to a typical BPT sample, the method revealed a range of concentrations from below the quantitative limit (one compound only) to a maximum of 3.20 mg/freeze-dried g. This method will be used for quality control of BPT preparations.