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  • Simultaneous determination of lovastatin and citrinin in red yeast rice supplements by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography.

Simultaneous determination of lovastatin and citrinin in red yeast rice supplements by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography.

Food chemistry (2012-12-26)
Biljana Nigović, Miranda Sertić, Ana Mornar
ABSTRACT

Lovastatin is a main component of Monascus purpureus fermented red rice contributing to the lipid-lowering effect. Citrinin is a toxic fermentation by-product which can be found as a contaminant. An accurate, simple and rapid micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatographic method was developed for the first time for simultaneous determination of lovastatin present in lactone and hydroxy acid forms and citrinin in red rice products provided by different manufacturers and formulated in various dosage forms. Separation was achieved within only 2 min using 20 mM of phosphate buffer at pH 7.0 and 30 mM of sodium dodecyl sulphate at an applied voltage of 25 kV. Sensitivity crucial for detecting citrinin was enhanced by using an extended light path capillary. The results showed that the content of lovastatin and its acid form in dietary supplements were considerably different indicating the need for improved standardization in order to ensure efficiency and safety of these products.

MATERIALS
Product Number
Brand
Product Description

Sigma-Aldrich
Citrinin, from Penicillium citrinum, ≥98% (HPLC)
Sigma-Aldrich
Mevinolin from Aspergillus sp., ≥98% (HPLC)
Lovastatin, European Pharmacopoeia (EP) Reference Standard
Supelco
Citrinin solution, ~100 μg/mL in acetonitrile, analytical standard
Lovastatin for peak identification, European Pharmacopoeia (EP) Reference Standard