Development and Validation of LC-MS/MS Method for Determination of Astaxanthin in Dietary Supplement

Abstract

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is amending its test methods for dietary supplements (functional health food) to establish regulatory standards and specifications in Korea. In this regard, we continue to research analytical method development for the items to improve their sensitivity and selectivity. In this study, we have developed liquid chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometry for astaxanthin analysis. This method can be used to characterize and quantify dietary supplement formulations containing astaxanthin. The procedure was validated at 37.5-2,400 ng/mL. Standard calibration curves presented linearity with the coefficient of determination (r²)>0.999. The limits of detection and limits of quantitation were 16 and 49 ng/mL, respectively. The recovery results ranged between 91.9-97.4% at three different concentration levels with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of less than 3.6%. The precision results (RSDs) were obtained between 1.2-3.5%, and reproducibility (1.8%) was obtained. These are in accordance with the established validation criteria (Association of Official Analytical Chemists). Our research can provide scientific evidence to amend the astaxanthin test method for Health Functional Food Codes.