Pattern profiling of the herbal preparation picroliv using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

At present, the construction of chromatographic fingerprints of complex herbal preparations in combination with mass spectrometry plays an important role in their development and standardization as potential therapeutic agents. Picroliv, an extract from roots and rhizomes of Picrorhiza kurroa, is a herbal hepatoprotective developed by CDRI. We report for the first time pattern profiling of various constituents of picroliv along with a precise and accurate method to estimate relative concentration of major components in the preparation by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. In total, 27 components could be detected in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode out of which fourteen could be quantified in terms of their relative concentration. Seven components were structurally correlated and confirmed based on the fragmentation pattern and information available in literature. The detection was carried out using MRM in negative ionization mode with analytes quantified from the summed total ion value of their most intense molecular ion transitions. The separation of various components was achieved using a gradient elution on RP-18 column with acetonitrile and Milli-Q water as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. The method was validated in terms of linearity, accuracy and precision (within- and between-assay variation) for 5 days. Linearity range was different for various components depending upon their sensitivity and abundance in the herbal preparation. Within- and between-assay accuracy (%bias) and precision (%R.S.D.) were within acceptable limits. The method was successfully applied to detect and determine relative concentrations of various components in two different batches of picroliv.