Sensitive Capillary GC-MS-SIM Determination of Atractylenolide I and Atractylenolide III in atractylodes macrocephala

A simple and sensitive capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method for the simultaneous determination of atractylenolide I (AO-I) and atractylenolide III (AO-III) in atractylodes macrocephala is described. AO-I and AO-III were obtained by supercritical fluid extraction, and imperatorin was used in this method as an internal standard for quantification. MS detection was performed in SIM mode to increase the sensitivity. Stability of the solutions, linear concentration range, accuracy, precision, LOD, LOQ, and specificity were examined to test the reliability of this method. The method was applied to the analysis of AO-I and AO-III in atractylodes macrocephala.