High-throughput screening of vitamins and natural antioxidants in nutraceuticals from green tea extracts by liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole orbitrap mass spectrometry

A new analytical method was developed and validated for simultaneous analysis of 52 vitamins and natural antioxidants in nutraceutical products obtained from green tea (Camellia sinensis) extracts. The automated extraction procedure was achieved in a simple disposable pipet extraction. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography and electrospray ionization quadrupole-Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC Q-Orbitrap) was used for the separation and detection of all the analytes. The method was validated by taking into consideration the guidelines specified in European SANCO/12571/2013 Guideline 2013 and Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. The extraction recoveries were in a range of 84.9-112.7%, with coefficient of variation <6.4%. The limits of decision for the analytes were in the range of 0.05-1.91 mg kg−1. The detection capabilities for the analytes were in the range of 0.08-3.18 mg kg−1. The 52 compounds behave dynamic 0.2-200 mg kg−1, with correlation coefficient >0.99. This validated method has been successfully applied on screening of vitamins and natural antioxidants in 136 different commercial nutraceutical products from green tea extracts.