Abstract:

An analytical method based on UPLC-MS/MS for the determination of 16 coumarin compounds in commonly cosmetics plant extract raw materials was established. The study aimed to evaluate the safety of plant extract as raw materials for cosmetics and to provide theoretical basis for regulating the application of plant extract in cosmetics. The separation was performed on a Waters ACQUITY HPLC BEH C₁₈ column. Acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid were used as mobile phases with gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.30 mL/min. A triple quadrupole mass spectrometer operating in positive electrospray ionization mode with multiple reaction monitoring was used. The results of 16 coumarin compounds show good linear relationships within their own rangers, the correlation coefficients （r） are above 0.995, and the mean recoveries at three spiked levels range from 85.7% to 108.6, with the relative standards of 1.5%-5.8%. The limits of detections （LODS） for the 16 coumarin compounds range from 0.3 μg/kg to 28.0 μg/kg. The limits of quantitation （LOQS） range from 1.0 μg/kg to 93.0 μg/kg. Coumarin compounds are detected in 4 of the 14 batches of plant extracts collected. The method not only is convenient, rapid, sensitive and accurate, but also can be used for the qualitative screening and quantitative determination of 16 coumarin compounds in cosmetics plant extract raw materials, which provides a way to explore the material basis of allergenic risk of the plant extract raw materials. It is suggested to pay attention to the safety risk of allergenic components from the plant extract raw materials, to establish the product quality and use specification of the plant extract raw materials.

Key words: UPLC-MS/MS, cosmetic, plant extract, coumarin compound