Analysis of CoQ10 in rat serum by ultra-performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry after oral administration.

A UPLC-MS method for determining Coenzyme Q(10) (CoQ(10)) levels in rat serum was developed. CoQ(10) was quantitatively extracted into 2-propanol using a fast extraction procedure. The separation of CoQ(10) was performed on a Waters Acquity UPLCtrade mark BEH C(18) column (1.7 microm, 1.0 mm x 50 mm) with the mobile phase containing acetonitrile, 2-propanol, and formic acid (90:10:0.1) over 5 min. The sensitivity of this method allows for the quantitation of 50 ng/mL CoQ(10) in serum (S/N=10). The linearity of this method was found to be from 50 to 20,000 ng/mL. The precision was less than 10% (intra- and inter-day), and the average extraction recovery was between 90 and 105%. This procedure provides a precise, sensitive and direct assay method for the determination of CoQ(10) in rat serum after oral administration. This method could be applied to further pharmacokinetic studies of CoQ(10).

A rapid and sensitive LC-MS/MS method for determination of coenzyme Q10 in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) leaves.

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method with multiple reaction monitoring has been proposed for the analysis of coenzyme Q10 in (CoQ10) tobacco leaves. The method used electrospray ionization with detection in positive ion mode. Sample pretreatment involved ultrasonic extraction of fresh tobacco leaves with anhydrous ethanol for 15 min and followed by extraction of the supernatant with hexane. The separation of CoQ10 was performed on a Symmetry Shield RP18 column with a mixture of acetonitrile and isopropanol (8:7, v/v) containing 0.5% formic acid as mobile phase. Quantification of CoQ10 was performed by the standard addition method. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation of CoQ10 were, respectively, 1.2 ng/mL (S/N = 3) and 4.0 ng/mL (S/N = 10). The relative standard deviations of peak area were 0.91% and 1.21% for intra-day and inter-day, respectively. The recoveries of CoQ10 ranged from 98.2 to 99.3% and the corresponding RSDs were less than 2.4%. Analysis took 5 min, making the method suitable for rapid determination of CoQ10 in tobacco leaves. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the analysis of CoQ10 in the leaves from eight varieties of tobacco.

Simultaneous determination of tissue tocopherols, tocotrienols, ubiquinols, and ubiquinones.

A tissue-specific distribution of the various vitamin E forms, tocotrienols and tocopherols, has been found, suggesting that these forms have unique roles in cellular functions. A sensitive procedure is described for the simultaneous determination of individual tocopherols, tocotrienols, ubiquinols, and ubiquinones using gradient high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and electrochemical detection for vitamin E homologues and ubiquinols, and in-line UV detection for ubiquinones. Using this method, the lipophilic antioxidant complement of a variety of hairless mouse tissues was analyzed. Of the vitamin E forms, brain contained virtually only alpha-tocopherol (5.4 +/- 0.1 nmol/g; 99.8%) and no detectable tocotrienols were found. By contrast, skin contained nearly 15% tocotrienols and 1% gamma-tocopherol. In other tissues, the alpha-tocopherol content was higher (20 nmol/g), while each of the other forms represented about 1% of the total (gamma-tocopherol 0.2 to 0.4 nmol/g, alpha-tocotrienol 0.1, gamma-tocotrienol 0.2). Ubiquinol-9 concentrations were highest in kidney (81 nmol/g) and in liver (42 nmol/g), while the highest ubiquinone-9 concentrations were found in kidney (301 +/- 123 nmol/g) and heart (244 +/- 22 nmol/g). Liver contained nearly identical concentrations of each of the redox couple (ubiquinol-9 (41 +/- 16 nmol/g) and ubiquinone-9 (46 +/- 18 nmol/g). The unique distribution of these various antioxidants in the tissues measured suggests their distribution may be dependent upon selective mechanisms for maintaining antioxidant defenses in each tissue.