Simple and rapid determination of 1-deoxynojirimycin in mulberry leaves.

A simple and rapid method for determining 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ), a potent glucosidase inhibitor present in mulberry leaves (Morus alba and Morus bombysis), by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to an evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) has been developed. DNJ was separated from extract of mulberry leaves on TSK gel Amide-80 column, which is a representative column for hydrophilic interaction chromatography. During post column detection, DNJ was detected by ELSD and concurrently identified by mass spectrometry. The detection limit was 100 ng. This method is sufficiently sensitive for determining DNJ in mulberry leaves and other related products.