Quantification of melittin and apamin in bee venom lyophilized powder from Apis mellifera by liquid chromatography–diode array detector–tandem mass spectrometry

A high-performance liquid chromatography–diode array detector–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–DAD–MS/MS) method was developed for simultaneous determination of melittin and apamin in crude bee venom lyophilized powder (CBVLP) as the traditional Chinese medicine possessing specific biological activity. Melittin and apamin were extracted with pure water from CBVLP samples followed by HPLC–DAD–MS/MS analysis. The method was validated to demonstrate its selectivity, linearity, limit of quantification (LOQ), intraday precision, interday precision, accuracy, recovery, matrix effect, and stability. The assay was linear over the concentration ranges of 1–100 and 0.2–25 μg/ml with limit of quantifications (LOQs) of 1.0 and 0.3 μg/ml for melittin and apamin, respectively. The precision results were expressed as coefficients of variation (CVs), ranging from 2.2% to 11.4% for intraday repeatability and from 3.2% to 13.1% for interday intermediary precision. The concentrations of endogenous melittin and apamin in CBVLP samples ranged from 46% to 53% and from 2.2% to 3.7% of dry weight, respectively. This rapid, simple, precise, and sensitive method allowed the simultaneous determination of melittin and apamin to evaluate authenticity and quality of CBVLP samples.