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. 2021 Aug;11(4):499-504.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpha.2021.05.003. Epub 2021 Jul 2.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry based quantitative analysis of cordycepin from Cordyceps militaris

Affiliations

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry based quantitative analysis of cordycepin from Cordyceps militaris

Jian Chen et al. J Pharm Anal. 2021 Aug.

Abstract

Cordycepin, which has great immunomodulatory activities such as anticancer, antifungal, antivirus, antileukemia and lipid-lowering ones, is the secondary metabolite of Cordyceps militaris (C. militaris). Liquid submerged fermentation is the common cultivation process to produce cordycepin. To optimize the fermentation process and improve production, monitoring the cordycepin secretion in the fermentation is essential. The measurement based on chromatography-mass spectrometry methods is generally involved in the complex sample pretreatments and time-consuming separation, so more rapid and convenient methods are required. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) is more attractive for faster and direct detection. Therefore, MALDI-MS detection combined with isotope-labeled internal standard was applied to the measurement of cordycepin content in the fermentation broth and mycelium. This method made accurate quantification of cordycepin in the range of 5-400 μg/mL with a relative standard deviation of 5.6%. The recovery rates of fermentation samples after the 1, 13, and 25 days were 90.15%, 94.27%, and 95.06%, respectively. The contents of cordycepin in the mycelium and fermentation broth were 136 mg/g and 148.39 mg/mL on the 20th culture day, respectively. The cordycepin secretion curve of the liquid fermentation of C. militaris was real-time traced over 25 days.

Keywords: Cordycepin; Isotope internal standard; Liquid fermentation; MALDI-MS; Quantitative analysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Image 1
Graphical abstract
Scheme 1
Scheme 1
Schematic illustration of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) quantitative analysis of secreted cordycepin by C. militaris.
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Mass spectra of cordycepin and cordycepin-13C5 standard assisted by different matrices. (A) α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCA) as matrix, (B) 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) as matrix.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The correspondence relationship between the [M+H]+ and [M+Na]+ peaks intensity and MALDI quantitative analysis. (A) Mass spectra of the mixture of cordycepin and cordycepin-13C5 at the same concentration of 100 μg/mL in the blank fermentation medium. (B) Calibration curve between cordycepin content and the signal ratio of cordycepin to cordycepin-13C5. (C–F) Fragment mass spectra of [251M+H]+, [256M+H]+, [251M+Na]+ and [256M+Na]+, respectively.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Comparison of MALDI-MS profiles of fermentation broth and mycelium on the 20th culture day, (A) mycelium extract and (B) fermentation broth spiked with 100 μg/mL internal standard.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Secretion curve of cordycepin in C. militaris fermentation broth over 25 days.

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