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Liquid chromatographic/electrospray ionization quadrupole/time of flight tandem mass spectrometric study of polyphenolic composition of different Vaccinium berry species and their comparative evaluation

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Abstract

Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry with both negative and positive ionization was used for comprehensively investigating the phenolic and polyphenolic compounds in berries from three spontaneous or cultivated Vaccinium species (i.e., Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinium uliginosum subsp. gaultherioides, and Vaccinium corymbosum). More than 200 analytes, among phenolic and polyphenolic compounds belonging to the classes of anthocyanins, monomeric and oligomeric flavonols, flavanols, dihydrochalcones, phenolic acids, together with other polyphenolic compounds of mixed structural characteristics, were identified. Some of the polyphenols herein investigated, such as anthocyanidin glucuronides and malvidin-feruloyl-hexosides in V. myrtillus, or anthocyanindin aldopentosides and coumaroyl-hexosides in V. uliginosum subsp. gaultherioides and a large number of proanthocyanidins with high molecular weight in all species, were described for the first time in these berries. Principal component analysis applied on original LC-TOF data, acquired in survey scan mode, successfully discriminated the three Vaccinium berry species investigated, on the basis of their polyphenolic composition, underlying one more time the fundamental role of mass spectrometry for food characterization.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by Regione Toscana and the private companies “Il Baggiolo S.r.l.,” Danti Giampiero & C. S.n.c.,” “Azienda Agricola Il Sottobosco,” and “Farmaceutica MEV S.r.l.,” within the “PRAF Misura 1.2. e)” grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy

    Claudia Ancillotti, Lorenzo Ciofi, Daniele Rossini, Serena Orlandini, Sandra Furlanetto & Massimo Del Bubba

  2. Sciex Europe, Landwehrstraße 54, 64293, Darmstadt, Germany

    Ugo Chiuminatto & Jianru Stahl-Zeng

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  1. Claudia Ancillotti
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  2. Lorenzo Ciofi
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Correspondence to Massimo Del Bubba.

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Ancillotti, C., Ciofi, L., Rossini, D. et al. Liquid chromatographic/electrospray ionization quadrupole/time of flight tandem mass spectrometric study of polyphenolic composition of different Vaccinium berry species and their comparative evaluation. Anal Bioanal Chem 409, 1347–1368 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-0067-y

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