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Title: Identification and quantification of 1,3-dimethylbutylamine (DMBA) from Camellia sinensis tea leaves and dietary supplements

Author
item AVULA, BHARATHI - University Of Mississippi
item WANG, MEI - University Of Mississippi
item SAGI, SATYANARAYANARA - University Of Mississippi
item COHEN, PIETER - Harvard Medical School
item WANG, YAN-HONG - University Of Mississippi
item LASONKAR, PRADEEP - University Of Mississippi
item CHITTIBOYINA, AMAR - University Of Mississippi
item FENG, WEI - National Institutes For Food And Drug Control
item KHAN, IKHLAS - University Of Mississippi

Submitted to: Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/2/2015
Publication Date: 7/8/2015
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/62326
Citation: Avula, B., Wang, M., Sagi, S.J., Cohen, P.A., Wang, Y., Lasonkar, P., Chittiboyina, A., Feng, W., Khan, I.A. 2015. Identification and quantification of 1,3-dimethylbutylamine (DMBA) from Camellia sinensis tea leaves and dietary supplements. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis. 115:159-168.

Interpretive Summary: 1,3-Dimethylbutylamine (DMBA), is a pressor amine and few products containing DMBA claim from a natural source. A holistic analytical approach using HPTLC, chiral-GC-MS and UHPLC-QToF-MS for the identification and quantification of DMBA from samples of Camellia sinensis tea leaves and dietary supplements claiming to contain AMP was developed. 25 samples of Camellia sinensis tea leaves and 13 dietary supplements were tested for DMBA. 11 out of 13 supplements contained DMBA in racemic form and ranged from 0.1 to 214 mg/daily dose. DMBA was not detected in 2 dietary supplements and 25 tea samples.

Technical Abstract: 1, 3-Dimethylbutylamine (DMBA), is a CNS stimulant which has recently been identified in multiple dietary supplements and sometimes labeled as a natural constituent of Pouchung tea. DMBA is an homologue of 1,3-dimethylamylamine (DMAA) which the US Food and Drug Administration has attempted to remove from all dietary supplements after DMAA consumption was linked to strokes, heart disease and sudden death. To address questions concerning the natural origin of DMBA, three independent analytical methods were developed for analyzing the authentic tea samples and dietary supplements. A High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) method was developed for the fast screening and chemical fingerprint analysis. Chiral Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to determine the enantiopurity and a validated Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-QToF-MS) method was developed for the quantification of DMBA. Using these techniques the presence of DMBA was confirmed using a reference standard and was not detected in any of 25 authentic or commercial samples of Camellia sinensis tea leaves (green tea, black tea, Oolong tea and Pouchung tea). Of 13 dietary supplements tested, 11 contained DMBA in racemic form and ranged from 0.1 to 214 mg per daily dose.