Quantitative determination of phorbol ester derivatives in Chinese Jatropha curcas seeds by high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

Phorbol esters (PEs) are the main toxins in Jatropha curcas seeds and known to cause a wide range of biological effects. In this study, we investigated PE derivatives in Chinese J. curcas seeds by high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Five PE peaks were detected, and all of them presented a parent ion peak [M−H]−m/z 709.8 in the mass spectrum which were consistent with previous reports that PE derivatives shared a similar parental backbone. According to the mass spectra data and the retention time, the existence of six PE derivatives named C1–C6 in Chinese J. curcas seeds was confirmed in our study. The content of phorbol ester derivatives in the seeds from six geographic locations in China were ranging 1.098–2.417 mg g−1. In addition, our results indicated that the contents of the different PE derivatives were closely correlated to the geographic locations of seeds. Seeds from Yunnan contained more derivative C1 but fewer C2 and C5, whereas seeds from Sichuan contained more C2 and C5 but fewer C1 derivative. Our results suggested that variations in PE derivatives might be used as markers to infer the geographic information of J. curcas seeds.

► PE derivatives in Chinese Jatropha curcas seed were investigated by HPLC.
► Five PE peaks were detected and the Mw of them was 710.8.
► PE contents in the seeds from different locations were ranged from 1.098 to 2.417 mg g−1.
► Five PE derivatives were quantified and closely correlated to the geographic locations of seeds.