A LC-MS validated method for quantification of rosmarinic acid and sesquiterpene lactones in Hedyosmum brasiliense

The leaves of the aromatic neotropical shrub Hedyosmum brasiliense are employed popularly as a sedative, aphrodisiac and as a substitute for green tea. Sesquiterpene lactones and phenolic compounds were characterized as the main compounds of its aqueous extract, and some biological investigation demonstrated its anxiolytic, antidepressant and hypnotic effects. The quantification of podoandin, onoseriolide and rosmarinic acid in its infused tea was achieved by means of ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled to a electronspray ionization interface and a high resolution mass detector. Quantification of the analytes was performed employing the areas of the extracted ion chromatograms of the analytes, negative ion mode for rosmarinic acid (1) and positive mode for podoandin (2) and onoseriolide (3). The method was validated by evaluating specificity, linearity, precision and accuracy and has been found to be sensitive, precise and accurate. When applied to analyze the hot water infusion extract of H. brasiliense, compounds 1, 2 and 3 were obtained to be 188 ± 1.45 mg/g, 1.9 ± 0.15 mg/g and 1.7 ± 0.02 mg/g of extract, respectively. The H. brasiliense tea was found to be a good source of the rosmarinic acid, also widely employed in the cosmetic industry.