Identification and quantification of Vinpocetine from dietary supplements

Authors: AVULA, BHARATHI - University Of Mississippi; COHEN, PIETER - Harvard Medical School; SAGI, SATYANARAYANARA - University Of Mississippi; WANG, YAN-HONG - University Of Mississippi; WANG, MEI - University Of Mississippi; KHAN, IKHLAS - University Of Mississippi

Submitted to: Drug Testing and Analysis Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/15/2015
Publication Date: 10/1/2015
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/62582
Citation: Avula, B., Cohen, P.A., Sagi, S.J., Wang, Y., Wang, M., Khan, I.A. 2015. Identification and quantification of Vinpocetine from dietary supplements. Drug Testing and Analysis Journal. 8:334-343. DOI 10.1002/dta.1853

Interpretive Summary: Vinpocetine and picamilon are synthetic drugs prescribed in many countries to treat a variety of cerebrovascular disorders. A validated UHPLC-PDA method was developed for the quantification of vinpocetine and picamilon from dietary supplements sold in US. Of the 23 dietary supplements tested, 17 contained vinpocetine and the quantity of vinpocetine ranged from 0.3 to 32 mg per daily dose. Picamilon, also known as nicotinoyl-y-aminobutyric acid, is an ingredient in dozens of dietary supplements. The quantity of picamilon in these products ranged from 0 mg to 721.5 mg per maximum recommended daily serving.

Technical Abstract: Vinpocetine and picamilon are drugs prescribed in many countries to treat a variety of cerebrovascular disorders. In the United States (US), vinpocetine and picamilon have never been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, but they are both available for sale directly to consumers as dietary supplements. We designed our study to determine the accuracy of supplements labels in respect to the presence and quantity of vinpocetine and picamilon. A validated ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-photodiode-array method was developed for the quantification of vinpocetine and picamilon. The separation was achieved using a reversed phase (C-18) column, photodiode array detection, and a water/acetonitrile gradient as the mobile phase. Vinpocetine and picamilon were detected at a concentration as low as 10 and 50 ng/mL, respectively. The presence of vinpocetine and picamilon were confirmed using reference standards. Twenty-three supplements labeled as containing vinpocetine were available for sale at two large supplement retail chains: 17 contained vinpocetine with quantities ranged from 0.3 to 32 mg per recommended daily serving. No vinpocetine was detected in 26% (6/23) of the sampled supplements. The supplement label implied that vinpocetine was an extract of lesser periwinkle in 17% (4/23) of the supplement brands. Of the 31 brands of picamilon supplements available for sale from a variety of retailers: 30 contained picamilon in quantities ranging from 2.7 mg to 721.5 mg per recommended daily serving. We found that consumers cannot obtain accurate information from supplement labels regarding the presence or quantity of vinpocetine and picamilon, two drugs never approved by the FDA.