Analytical determination of Chios mastic gum triterpenoids in human plasma and fecal samples by UPLC-ESI-TripleTOF-HRMS

Chios mastic gum (CMG) is the resin obtained from Pistacia lentiscus L. var. Chia, which is endemic to the Greek island of Chios. CMG has a rich ethnopharmacological history, deeply rooted in the Mediterranean populations‘ phytotherapeutic tradition, while, in 2015, CMG was officially recognized by EMA as a traditional herbal medicinal product. From a phytochemical standpoint, CMG is rich in triterpenes, with masticadienonic acid (MNA) and isomasticadienonic acid (IMNA), being its characteristic constituents [1]. In a continuation study [2] [3], aiming to assess the effectiveness of CMG as a novel phytotherapeutic supplement for the treatment of NAFLD/NASH, a UPLC-ESI-TripleTOF-HRMS method was developed and validated for the determination of MNA and IMNA in plasma and stool samples of volunteers receiving a daily dose of CMG.

Different extraction protocols were applied to each sample matrix and parameters, such as linearity, specificity, LOD, LOQ and accuracy, were evaluated. Finally, the method was applied to more than 200 plasma and 80 stool samples for the quantitation of MNA and IMNA, revealing a considerable inter-individual variability in their levels. This method can be utilized in any pharmacological study examining CMG’s bioactivity in a human cohort.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
13. Dezember 2021

• References

• 1 Pachi et al. J Ethnopharmacol 2020; 112485.
• 2 Amerikanou et al. Mol Nutr Food Res 2021; 2001178.
• 3 Brieudes et al. Planta Med 2021.