Planta Med 2012; 78 - P_129
DOI: 10.1055/s-0032-1307637

Fatty Acid Analysis of Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens) and Pygeum (Prunus africanum) in Dietary Supplements by Mass Spectrometry in the Selected Ion Monitoring Mode

M Wang 1, B Avula 1, YH Wang 1, J Zhao 1, JF Parcher 1, IA Khan 1, 2
  • 1National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • 2Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, MS 38677, USA

Saw palmetto and pygeum are natural products commonly used in dietary supplements for the treatment of enlarged prostate glands. These plant materials are rich in fatty acids, and the fatty acid compositions of both plants are similar. The goal of this study was to develop a gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC/EI-MS-SIM) method that could be used to chemically distinguish the two species in dietary supplements. Two authenticated plant samples, two commercial plant extracts, one NIST SRM extract and twenty-one commercial dietary supplements purported to contain either saw palmetto, pygeum or both were investigated. Fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) were analyzed by GC/MS in a selected ion monitoring mode. The major fatty acid components of saw palmetto determined in this study were oleic acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, linoleic acid and palmitic acid. The major components in pygeum were palmitic acid, stearic acid, linoleic acid, and oleic acid. The use of selected ion monitor mode for the GC/MS analysis allowed accurate quantitation of all detected FAMEs even those that were not chromatographically resolved. The proposed GC/MS method is useful for chemical fingerprint analysis and quality control of dietary supplements claiming to contain pygeum and/or saw palmetto. Principal component analysis was used for interpretation of the analytical results. A distinct cluster was observed for samples containing pygeum alone. A separate cluster was observed for samples containing saw palmetto alone or mixed with pygeum.

Fig.1. Fingerprint Patterns of Saw Palmetto and Pygeum Standards and Authenticated Plants.

Acknowledgements : This research is supported in part by Science Based Authentication of Dietary Supplements funded by the Food and Drug Administration grant No. 1U01FD004246–01; the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Specific Cooperative Agreement No. 58–6408–2-0009, and the Global Research Network for Medicinal Plants (GRNMP), King Saud University. References: [1] Michele M, Schantz MM, et al. (2008) Anal Bioanal Chem 392: 427–438.