A UPLC- MS/MS Method to Quantify β-Sitosterol and Ferulic Acid of Pygeum Africanum Extract in Bulk and Pharmaceutical Preparation.

This study uses a liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry method to determine β-Sitosterol and Ferulic acid in Pygeum africanum extract. Chromatographic separation of the two analytes was performed on an ACQUITY UPLC H-Class system coupled with Xevo TQD mass spectrometer and HSS T3 C18 column (2.1 X 50 mm, 1.8 μm). Mobile phase A consisted of an aqueous solution of 0.1% formic acid (v/v), and mobile phase B was 0.1% formic acid (v/v) in methanol pumped through a gradient elution mode. Mass spectrometer parameters were optimized using an electrospray ionization source in the positive and negative ionization modes. The quantification of the two analytes was performed using multiple reaction monitoring transitions. The method was fully validated per (FDA) guidelines regarding linearity, accuracy, precision, carryover and selectivity. The proposed method was applied successfully to determine the two investigated compounds in commercially available pharmaceutical products.