Rapid and accurate analysis of rosmarinic acid in infusions of Melissa officinalis by LC-MS/MS

SILVIA ARCE; GIMENA ACOSTA; JUAN LLABOT; LUIS DANTE MARTINEZ; ROXANA, GOMEZ; SOLEDAD CERUTTI

Rosario

Congreso; 2º Reunión Internacional de Ciencias Farmacéuticas; 2012

Universidad Nacional de Rosario

Infusions and preparations from Melissa officinalis L. (?Melisa? or ?Lemon balm?) are traditionally administered for the symptomatic treatment of gastrointestinal disturbances, functional dyspepsia, nervous disorders and in the therapy of Herpes simplex infections (1, 2). Lemon balm is rich in terpenoids, flavonoids and cinnamic acid derivatives, with rosmarinic acid (RA) as the main component, usually quantified in the quality control assays. However, it is well known that phenolic acids are unstable and sensitive to many different factors such as high temperature, exposure to UV radiation or air oxygen, and metal ions [3, 4]. Stability studies of RA have been restricted so far to analyses performed under the daylight [5], but temperature effect above certain limits has not been assessed. Therefore, the aim of this work was to establish a rapid and sensitive method for the analysis of RA in M. officinalis leaves. Prior determinations per se, different sample treatments were evaluated in terms of RA recovery.