Isolation of Toxic Components from <i>Phytolacca americana</i>and Establishment of Simultaneous Analysis Method of their Components

We isolated Phytolaccasaponins B, E and G, which are toxic components of Phytolacca americana. Highly purified products were extracted from Phytolacca americana root extract using silica gel, ODS, diol column chromatography. Using these components as analytical standards, we optimized the LC-MS/MS conditions and established 3 components simultaneous analysis method. In recovery tests, the average recovery ranged from 74 to 119%, with a repeatability of 1.0 to 7.1% RSD. Analyses of a 2018 food poisoning specimen indicated 3 toxic components in the leaves and 2 toxic components in the roots. Those findings suggest that the simultaneous analysis method was useful for a food poisoning specimen. These results show that this method is required for identifying food poisoning caused by Phytolacca americana, even when leftovers are unrecognizable or when the poisoning is caused by plant parts other than the roots.