Development of liquid chromatographic methods for the determination of phytosterols in Standard Reference Materials containing saw palmetto

Liquid chromatographic (LC) methods using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization/mass spectrometric (APCI–MS) detection were developed for the separation and analysis of the phytosterols campesterol, cycloartenol, lupenone, lupeol, β-sitosterol, and stigmasterol. Brassicasterol and cholesterol were also included for investigation as internal standards. The methods were used to identify and quantify the phytosterols in each of two Serenoa repens (saw palmetto) Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Values obtained by LC–MS were compared to those obtained using the more traditional approach of gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. This is the first reported use of LC–MS to determine phytosterols in saw palmetto dietary supplement materials.