Determination of Yohimbine in Yohimbe Bark and Related Dietary Supplements Using UHPLC-UV/MS: Single-Laboratory Validation

Abstract

A single-laboratory validation was performed on a practical ultra-HPLC (UHPLC)-diode array detector (DAD)/tandem MS method for determination of yohimbine in yohimbe barks and related dietary supplements. Good separation was achieved using a Waters Acquity ethylene bridged hybrid C₁₈ column with gradient elution using 0.1% (v/v) aqueous ammonium hydroxide and 0.1% ammonium hydroxide in methanol as the mobile phases. The method can separate corynanthine from yohimbine in yohimbe bark extract, which is critical for accurate quantitation of yohimbine in yohimbe bark and related dietary supplements. Accuracy of the method was demonstrated using standard addition methods. Both intraday and interday precisions of the method were good. The method can be used without MS since yohimbine concentration in yohimbe barks and related dietary supplements are usually high enough for DAD detection, which can make it an easy and economical method for routine analysis of yohimbe barks and related dietary supplements. On the other hand, the method can be used with MS if desired for more challenging work such as biological and/or clinical studies.