Hydrolysable tannins (HTs) are immensely distributed complex bioactive polyphenols with numerous defensive and medicinal activities. Plant produces HTs via a biosynthetic pathway, which can be segmented into 13 different major branches and each branch can produce several tannins with varying structures and bioactivities [1,2].
It has always been very crucial and demanding for phytochemists to determine what types of HTs are produced by various plant species because of their diversified chemical structures, large range of molecular weights, complex biosynthetic pathways, and sometimes also the low amount in the plant sample [3]. Tandem mass spectrometry with multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) is the most selective quantitation tool so far utilized for modern tannin analysis. Unfortunately, compound-specific MRM methods have not been developed to be used widely in the tannin research. Newly developed extensive methods would enable all QqQ and Orbitrap users to detect the chosen tannins rapidly and selectively. Moreover, accurate quantification of HTs is very much possible with the presence of suitable standards. At present, the quantification of individual HTs is very limited and being carried out with trivial methodologies. Our ultimate target is to develop a modern UPLC-MS2 method that will selectively and precisely show in less than 10 mins per sample, which biosynthetic branches of the HT pathway are used by the tested plant species.
In this poster, we will show how the created advanced tandem mass spectrometry method functions rapidly and selectively with tens of model species with known HT composition. In addition, we show its potency to be used even with randomly selected species.
[1] Moilanen J, Koskinen P, Salminen, J-P. 2015. Phytochemistry 2015; 116:188–197.
[2] Engström MT, Karonen M, Ahern JR, Baert N, Payré B, Hoste H, Salminen J-P. J Agric Food Chem 2016; 64: 840–851.
[3] Moilanen J, Sinkkonen J, Salminen J-P. 2013. Chemoecology 2013; 23:165–179.