Introduction: Taxus baccata L. is an evergreen conifer whose plant parts are cardiotoxic. Only the red arils of the berries are described as non-toxic and taxane-free.
Objective: Extraction and HPLC-MS/MS methods were developed for the investigation of the Taxus compounds 3,5-dimethoxyphenol, 10-deacetylbaccatin III, baccatin III, cephalomannine, taxol A and taxinine M in the red arils of the yew berries.
Methodology: A liquid-liquid extraction method for the red arils of the fruits from three yews were developed. An accurate (ESI+) HPLC-MS/MS method was performed for the simultaneous detection and determination of the target compounds in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode.
Results: All Taxus agents obtained were detected in the red arils. Highest concentrations were determined for baccatin III and 10-deacetylbaccatin III.
Conclusion: The developed quantitative method is reliable and selective and was successfully applied for quantification of selected Taxus ingredients in red arils of Taxus baccata. It was disproved that the red arils of the berries do not contain the selected Taxus compounds.
Keywords: 10-deacetylbaccatin III; 3,5-dimethoxyphenol; HPLC-MS/MS; Taxus baccata; baccatin III; cephalomannine; red arils; taxinine M; taxol A.
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