ANALYSIS FOR ERINACINES AND HERICENONES IN LION’S MANE MUSHROOMS USING HRMS AND ION MOBILITY

Importance of the Topic

Lion’s Mane mushroom produces bioactive metabolites—erinacines and hericenones—that have been linked to cognitive function and nerve growth. Reliable profiling of these compounds is critical for product quality control and for understanding their health benefits.

Study Objectives and Overview

This study evaluates the occurrence and isomeric composition of erinacines and hericenones in various commercial Lion’s Mane preparations. High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) coupled with cyclic ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is applied to distinguish closely related isomers without available reference standards.

Methodology and Instrumentation

Sample Preparation

• Powders, tablets, liquid drops, and dried mushrooms were extracted at a 10 mL solvent/g mushroom ratio by sonication in ethanol, followed by centrifugation and filtration.

Chromatography

• UPLC BEH C18 column (2.1 × 100 mm, 1.7 µm) using water with 8 mM NH₄OH (A) and acetonitrile (B) gradient.

Mass Spectrometry and Ion Mobility

• Xevo G2-XS QTOF with ESI source (2 kV capillary voltage) and cyclic IMS cell.
• Single-pass IMS resolution of 65 Ω/ΔΩ; six-pass separation raised resolution to ~159 Ω/ΔΩ.
• Data processed in MassLynx v4.2 and DriftScope v3.0; collisional cross sections (CCS) calculated and compared against predictive tools AllCCS and CCSOnDemand.

Main Results and Discussion

- Erinacines A, B, E, F share C₂₅H₃₆O₆ and were resolved as four distinct arrival-time peaks under six-pass IMS.
- Measured CCS values closely matched predicted values, supporting tentative isomer assignments.
- Quantitative profiling revealed substantial variability in compound levels across products: erinacine C at 49–57 µg/g in powders; hericenone J up to 8.5 µg/g in dried samples.

Benefits and Practical Applications

High-resolution IMS–HRMS allows differentiation of geometric isomers in complex natural extracts without authentic standards. This workflow enhances quality assurance for nutraceuticals and enables accurate fingerprinting of bioactive constituents.

Future Trends and Opportunities

Expanding cyclic IMS-HRMS to other functional foods and secondary metabolites will broaden non-targeted screening capabilities. Improved predictive CCS databases and multi-dimensional mobility separations will further refine isomer identification and support regulatory compliance in the supplement industry.

Conclusion

Cyclic ion mobility combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry provides a robust approach for characterizing erinacines and hericenones in Lion’s Mane products, overcoming challenges posed by isomeric complexity and lack of standards.

References

1. Healthline. Lion’s Mane Mushroom: Benefits, Uses, and More.
2. McCullagh M., Goscinny S., Palmer M., Ujma J. Investigations into pesticide charge site isomers using conventional IM and cIM systems. Talanta. 2021;234:122604.
3. Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. AllCCS and CCSOnDemand predictive tools.