HPLC Determination of Cordycepin in Nutrition Products

A high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed to determine cordycepin in nutrition products. The sample (10.00 g) was dissolved in water to make 50.00 g of solution. 2.50 g of the solution was mixed well with 30 mL water and then 1.0 mL of 30.0 g·L^-1 metaphosphoric acid solution was added into the solution to precipitate the interference substances. The supernatant was seperated on Phenomenex Gemini C₁₈ chromatgraphic column (250 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm), with a mixture of acetonitrile and water as mobile phase for gradient elution. Cordycepin was detected with UV detector at the wavelengh of 260 nm. Linear relationship was found between the peak area and the mass concetration of cordycepin in the range of 0.05-1.00 mg·L^-1, with lower limit of determination (10S/N) of 5.0 mg·kg^-1. Recovery rates obtained by standard addition method were in the range of 100%-102% and RSDs (n=6) were less than 5.0%.