Determination of maytansinoids in Trewia nudiflora using QuEChERS extraction combined with HPLC

Three maytansinoids with strong cytotoxicities, dehydrotrewiasine, maytanbutine, and trewiasine, were isolated and identified from Trewia nudiflora, and maytanbutine was obtained from this plant for the first time. A quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) extraction combined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was established to determine the three maytansinoids in T. nudiflora. The effects of major factors on the extraction efficiency of the QuEChERS method were evaluated and the optimal conditions using acetonitrile-ethyl acetate (1:1, v/v) as the extraction solvent and PestiCarb as the clean-up sorbents were established. Compared with Soxhlet extraction (SE) and ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE), the QuEChERS method was easy-to-operate and afforded a cleaner extract. A phenomenex HyperClone BDS C₁₈ column was used for HPLC analysis. Methanol-acetonitrile-water was chosen as mobile phase for gradient elution. Method validation showed that all analytes showed good linearity (r > 0.999) over the investigated ranges and satisfactory recoveries ranging from 95.0% to 105.0%. The developed QuEChERS-HPLC method was simple, efficient, and applicable to the determination of maytansinoids in T. nudiflora.