Alkaloid profiling of crude and processed Veratrum nigrum L. through simultaneous determination of ten steroidal alkaloids by HPLC–ELSD

Veratrum nigrum L., a traditional Chinese herb, has been used for treatment of hypertension, blood-stroke, excessive phlegm, epilepsy, etc. Steroidal alkaloids were well-known as both bioactive and toxic constituents of Veratrum species, the toxicity of which the traditional processing procedure can reduce. To reveal the mechanism of processing V. nigrum L., a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of ten steroidal alkaloids in crude and processed V. nigrum L., comparison with ultrasound extract of crude V. nigrum L. With a Venusil XBP-C18 analytical column, the analytes were separated efficiently using the mobile phase consisted of (A) 0.03% aqueous triethylamine (TEA) and (B) acetonitrile in a gradient program. The parameters for ELSD were set: S.C. (Spray Chamber) = 35 °C, D.T. (Drift Tube) = 70 °C, GAS = 50 psi. All calibration curves showed good linear regression (γ ≥ 0.9990) within the tested range. Additionally, reproducibility for the quantification of ten alkaloids in V. nigrum L. with intra- and inter-day variations of less than 5.0% was observed. The obtained alkaloid profiles performed by this newly established method, provided valuable information for the differentiation of crude and processed V. nigrum L. and for the explanation of the different toxicity.