Simultaneous quantification of nine aconitum alkaloids in Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata and related products using UHPLC–QQQ–MS/MS

Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata (Fuzi) is obtained from processed daughter roots of Aconitum carmichaeli, a toxic plant with a high medical value well known in Chinese medicine. In addition to the known toxic alkaloids (aconitine, mesaconitine, and hypaconitine) and bioactive alkaloids (benzoylaconine, benzoylmesaconine, and benzoylhypaconine), three rarely found alkaloids have been previously reported in Fuzi, i.e., yunaconitine, 8-deacetyl-yunaconitine, and crassicauline A, and they were reported in recent years to cause potential risk to patients who took Fuzi or related products. To better control the quality of this herb and its related products and ensure safe use, developing a method to simultaneously determine these 9 alkaloids is important. In this research, sensitive and accurate ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry method was established and used to examine 51 Fuzi and 27 Fuzi-containing products. Unexpectedly, 8-deacetyl-yunaconitine was detected in 17 Fuzi samples (33.3%) and 3 Fuzi-containing products (11.1%); yunaconitine in 10 Fuzi samples (19.6%) and 10 Fuzi-containing products (37.0%); and crassicauline A in 3 Fuzi samples (5.8%). Industry and clinics should be aware of the unusually high detection rate of these three toxic alkaloids in the Fuzi herb and its related products and take the necessary precautions to protect patients from any potential risk.