Assay of lovastatin containing dietary supplement by LC‐MS/MS under MRM condition

Monacolin K, the active ingredient present in dietary supplement, is a nutraceutical whose health benefits have been widely documented. A fast approach for the assay of lovastatin in both forms, lactone and acid, by mass spectrometry is presented. The quantitative assay is carried out by high‐performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry by using the multiple reaction monitoring mode and simvastatin and pravastatin as internal standards. The accuracy values ranged from 97 to 101%; the analytical parameter values of limit of quantitation, limit of detection, recovery, and reproducibility were calculated by analyzing fortified samples, confirming the reliability of the proposed approach.