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Quantification of Aromatic Amino Acids in Cordyceps fungi by Micellar Electrokinetic Capillary Chromatography

  • Biology
  • Published:
Wuhan University Journal of Natural Sciences

Abstract

A facile micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) method was developed for quantification of aromatic amino acids in Cordyceps fungi. The proposed MEKC method had linear calibration curves and detection limits at the μmol/L level. Contents of aromatic amino acids in Cordyceps were found in the range from 0.004 9 % to 0.028 0% for tryptophan (Trp), 0.036 6% to 0.078 1% for tyrosine (Tyr), and 0.029 1% to 0.136 2% for phenylalanine (Phe). Levels of amino acids in cultivated Cordyceps militaris were found higher than those in natural Cordyceps sinensis. Interestingly, the ratio of Tyr to its precursor, Phe, in C. sinensis (1.20 ± 0.091, n=3) was significantly higher than that in cultivated C. militaris (0.54 ± 0.170, n=3). This is likely because the enzyme-catalyzed in vivo biotransformation of Phe to Tyr is much more effective in natural C. sinensis, a biological hybrid of larva and parasitic fungus, than in cultivated C. militaris.

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  1. These authors contribute equally to this study

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacy, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430071, China

    Xin Wei, Yaxia Su & Hankun Hu

  2. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi, 39217, USA

    Xin Wei, Yaxia Su, Xiangtang Li, Rui Xu & Yiming Liu

Authors
  1. Xin Wei
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  2. Yaxia Su
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  3. Hankun Hu
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  4. Xiangtang Li
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  5. Rui Xu
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  6. Yiming Liu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hankun Hu.

Additional information

Foundation item: Supported by Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University Science, Technology, and Innovation Seed Fund (cxpy2017023), and the TCM Research Project of Hubei Provincial Health Commission (ZY2019M033)

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Wei, X., Su, Y., Hu, H. et al. Quantification of Aromatic Amino Acids in Cordyceps fungi by Micellar Electrokinetic Capillary Chromatography. Wuhan Univ. J. Nat. Sci. 24, 245–250 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11859-019-1393-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11859-019-1393-7

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