A rapid method for sensitive profiling of folates from plant leaf by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer.

Previous published methods for the analysis of folates are time consuming because of lengthy sample extraction, clean-up and total running time. This study details the development and validation of a rapid, sensitive and robust method that combines a simple extraction step with ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry. Here, we reported application of a tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer to analyze maximum seven vitamers of folate from plant origin. The analytical performance was evaluated by linearity, sensitivity, precision, recovery test and analysis of certified reference materials. The limit of detection and limit of quantification ranged between 0.003 and 0.021μg/100g FW and between 0.011 and 0.041μg/100g FW, respectively; the recovery and precession ranged from 71.27 to 99. 01% and from 1.7 to 7.8% RSD, respectively, depending upon folate vitamers. This newly developed and validated method is rapid (a chromatographic run time of 5min), easy to be performed (no laborious and time consuming clean-up) and can be used to simultaneously analyze seven vitamers of folate from plant sources.