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1.
Anal Chim Acta ; 1278: 341716, 2023 Oct 16.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37709459

ABSTRACT

Cannabis sativa has long been harvested for industrial applications related to its fibers. Industrial hemp cultivars, a botanical class of Cannabis sativa with a low expression of intoxicating Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) have been selected for these purposes and scarcely investigated in terms of their content in bioactive compounds. Following the global relaxation in the market of industrial hemp-derived products, research in industrial hemp for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical purposes has surged. In this context, metabolomics-based approaches have proven to fulfill the aim of obtaining comprehensive information on the phytocompound profile of cannabis samples, going beyond the targeted evaluation of the major phytocannabinoids. In the present paper, an HRMS-based metabolomics study was addressed to seven distinct industrial hemp cultivars grown in four experimental fields in Northern, Southern, and Insular Italy. Since the role of minor phytocannabinoids as well as other phytocompounds was found to be critical in discriminating cannabis chemovars and in determining its biological activities, a comprehensive characterization of phytocannabinoids, flavonoids, and phenolic acids was carried out by LC-HRMS and a dedicated data processing workflow following the guidelines of the metabolomics Quality Assurance and Quality Control Consortium. A total of 54 phytocannabinoids, 134 flavonoids, and 77 phenolic acids were annotated, and their role in distinguishing hemp samples based on the geographical field location and cultivar was evaluated by ANOVA-simultaneous component analysis. Finally, a low-level fused model demonstrated the key role of untargeted cannabinomics extended to lesser-studied phytocompound classes for the discrimination of hemp samples.


Subject(s)
Cannabis , Industry , Dietary Supplements , Flavonoids
2.
Anal Chem ; 94(38): 13117-13125, 2022 09 27.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36121000

ABSTRACT

The evaluation of double bond positions in fatty acyl chains has always been of great concern given their significance in the chemical and biochemical role of lipids. Despite being the foremost technique for lipidomics, it is difficult in practice to obtain identification beyond the fatty acyl level by the sole high-resolution mass spectrometry. Paternò-Büchi reactions of fatty acids (FAs) with ketones have been successfully proposed for pinpointing double bonds in FAs in combination with the collision-induced fragmentation technique. In the present paper, an aza-Paternò-Büchi (aPB) reaction of lipids with 6-azauracil (6-AU) was proposed for the first time for the determination of carbon-carbon double bonds in fatty acyl chains using higher collisional dissociation in the negative ion mode. The method was optimized using free FA and phospholipid analytical standards and compared to the standard Paternò-Büchi reaction with acetone. The introduction of the 6-AU moiety allowed enhancing the ionization efficiency of the FA precursor and diagnostic product ions, thanks to the presence of ionizable sites on the derivatizing agent. Moreover, the aPB derivatization allowed the obtention of deprotonated ions of phosphatidylcholines, thanks to an intramolecular methyl transfer from the phosphocholine polar heads during ionization. The workflow was finally applied for pinpointing carbon-carbon double bonds in 77 polar lipids from an yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) extract.


Subject(s)
Acetone , Carbon , Acetone/chemistry , Carbon/chemistry , Fatty Acids , Ions , Phosphatidylcholines , Phospholipids/chemistry , Phosphorylcholine , Plant Extracts
3.
Phytochem Anal ; 33(4): 507-516, 2022 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35064611

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Blueberries are known for their very high content of biologically active phenolic compounds; nonetheless, differently from the North American and European species of blueberries, Neotropical blueberries have not been extensively studied yet. OBJECTIVES: In the present paper, the phenolic composition of Vaccinium floribundum Kunth, which is endemic to the Andean regions and grows 1,600 to 4,500 meters above sea level, was investigated by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS). Native and fermented berries were compared in terms of phenolic composition as well as antioxidant activity, total phenolic content, and total anthocyanin content. MATERIALS AND METHODS: V. floribundum native and fermented berries were extracted and analyzed by UHPLC-HRMS. The acquired datasets were processed by Compound Discoverer 3.1 using a dedicated data analysis workflow that was specifically set up for phenolic compound identification. RESULTS: In total, 309 compounds were tentatively identified, including anthocyanins, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and proanthocyanidins. The molecular transformations of phenolic compounds during fermentation were comprehensively investigated for the first time, and by a customized data processing workflow, 13 quinones and quinone methides were tentatively identified in the fermented samples. Compared to other species of the genus Vaccinium, a peculiar phenolic profile is observed, with low abundance of highly methylated compounds. CONCLUSION: Andean berries are a rich source of a wide variety of phenolic compounds. Untargeted MS analyses coupled to a dedicated data processing workflow allowed expanding the current knowledge on these berries, improving our understanding of the fate of phenolic compounds after fermentation.


Subject(s)
Vaccinium , Anthocyanins/analysis , Antioxidants/analysis , Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid , Computational Biology , Fruit/chemistry , Mass Spectrometry , Phenols/analysis , Plant Extracts/chemistry , Vaccinium/chemistry
4.
Molecules ; 26(21)2021 Nov 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34771162

ABSTRACT

This work describes an untargeted analytical approach for the screening, identification, and characterization of the trans-epithelial transport of green tea (Camellia sinensis) catechin extracts with in vitro inhibitory effect against the SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PLpro) activity. After specific catechin extraction, a chromatographic separation obtained six fractions were carried out. The fractions were assessed in vitro against the PLpro target. Fraction 5 showed the highest inhibitory activity against the SARS-CoV-2 PLpro (IC50 of 0.125 µg mL-1). The untargeted characterization revealed that (-)-epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG) was the most abundant compound in the fraction and the primary molecule absorbed by differentiated Caco-2 cells. Results indicated that fraction 5 was approximately 10 times more active than ECG (IC50 value equal to 11.62 ± 0.47 µg mL-1) to inhibit the PLpro target. Overall, our findings highlight the synergistic effects of the various components of the crude extract compared to isolated ECG.


Subject(s)
Catechin/pharmacology , Coronavirus Papain-Like Proteases/metabolism , Tea/metabolism , Antiviral Agents/chemistry , COVID-19/metabolism , Caco-2 Cells , Camellia sinensis/metabolism , Catechin/analogs & derivatives , Catechin/chemistry , Catechin/metabolism , Coronavirus Papain-Like Proteases/drug effects , Epithelium/drug effects , Epithelium/metabolism , Humans , Mass Spectrometry/methods , Plant Extracts/chemistry , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , SARS-CoV-2/drug effects , SARS-CoV-2/metabolism , SARS-CoV-2/pathogenicity , Tea/chemistry , Tea/physiology , COVID-19 Drug Treatment
5.
Molecules ; 25(12)2020 Jun 12.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32545546

ABSTRACT

Chestnut seeds are used for fresh consumption and for the industrial preparation of derivatives, such as chestnut flour. During industrial processing, large amounts of by-products are generally produced, such as leaves, flowers, shells and burs. In the present study, chestnut shells were extracted by boiling water in order to obtain polyphenol-rich extracts. Moreover, for the removal or non-phenolic compounds, a separation by preparative reverse phase chromatography in ten fractions was carried out. The richest fractions in terms of phenolic content were characterized by means of untargeted high-resolution mass spectrometric analysis together with a dedicated and customized data processing workflow. A total of 243 flavonoids, phenolic acids, proanthocyanidins and ellagitannins were tentatively identified in the five richest fractions. Due its high phenolic content (450.03 µg GAE per mg of fraction), one tumor cell line (DU 145) and one normal prostate epithelial cell line (PNT2) were exposed to increasing concentration of fraction 3 dry extract for 24, 48 and 72 h. Moreover, for DU 145 cell lines, increase of apoptotic cells and perturbation of cell cycle was demonstrated for the same extract. Those outcomes suggest that chestnut industrial by-products could be potentially employed as a source of bioresources.


Subject(s)
Fagaceae/chemistry , Nuts/chemistry , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Antioxidants/chemistry , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Flavonoids/chemistry , Humans , Male , Mass Spectrometry , Phenols/chemistry , Plant Extracts/chemistry , Polyphenols/chemistry , Prostate/drug effects , Prostatic Neoplasms/drug therapy , Seeds/chemistry
6.
Molecules ; 24(19)2019 Oct 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31597364

ABSTRACT

Asparagus waste represents products of great interest since many compounds with high biological value are located in the lower portion of the spears. The extraction of bioactive compounds from asparagus by-products is therefore crucial for the purpose of adding value to these by-products. In this paper, bioactive peptides from asparagus waste were extracted, digested, purified and identified. In particular, Alcalase® was chosen as the enzyme to use to obtain protein hydrolysate due to its low cost and, consequently, the possibility of implementing the method on a large scale. In order to simplify the peptide extract to reach better identification, the hydrolysate was fractionated by reversed-phase chromatography in 10 fractions. Two tests were carried out for antioxidant activity (ABTS-DPPH) and one for antihypertensive activity (ACE). Fractions with a higher bioactivity score were identified by peptidomics technologies and screened for bioactivity with the use of bioinformatics. For ACE-inhibitor activity, two peptides were synthetized, PDWFLLL and ASQSIWLPGWL, which provided an EC50 value of 1.76 µmol L-1 and 4.02 µmol L-1, respectively. For the antioxidant activity, by DPPH assay, MLLFPM exhibited the lowest EC50 value at 4.14 µmol L-1, followed by FIARNFLLGW and FAPVPFDF with EC50 values of 6.76 µmol L-1 and 10.01 µmol L-1, respectively. A validation of the five identified peptides was also carried out. The obtained results showed that peptides obtained from asparagus by-products are of interest for their biological activity and are suitable for being used as functional ingredients.


Subject(s)
Antihypertensive Agents/chemistry , Antioxidants/chemistry , Asparagus Plant/chemistry , Peptides/chemistry , Plant Extracts/chemistry , Proteomics , Amino Acid Sequence , Antihypertensive Agents/isolation & purification , Antihypertensive Agents/pharmacology , Antioxidants/isolation & purification , Plant Extracts/isolation & purification , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Plant Proteins/chemistry , Proteomics/methods , Tandem Mass Spectrometry
7.
J Sep Sci ; 42(10): 1938-1947, 2019 May.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30920149

ABSTRACT

An analytical method for determining seleno-methionine, methyl-seleno-cysteine, and seleno-cystine in wheat bran was developed and validated. Four different extraction procedures were evaluated to simultaneously extract endogenous free and conjugated seleno-amino acids in wheat bran in order to select the best extraction protocol in terms of seleno amino acid quantitation. The extracted samples were subjected to a clean-up by a reversed phase/strong cation exchange solid-phase extraction and analyzed by chiral hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The optimized extraction protocol was employed to validate the methodology. Process efficiency ranged from 58 to 112% and trueness from 73 to 98%. Limit of detection and limit of quantification were lower than 1 ng/g. Four wheat bran samples were analyzed for both total Se and single seleno-amino acids determination. The results showed that Se- seleno-methyl-lselenocysteine was the major seleno-amino acid in wheat bran while seleno-methionine and seleno-cysteine were both minor species.


Subject(s)
Amino Acids/analysis , Dietary Fiber/analysis , Food Analysis/methods , Selenocysteine/analysis , Calibration , Cations , Chromatography, Liquid , Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions , Limit of Detection , Reproducibility of Results , Selenium/analysis , Solid Phase Extraction , Streptomyces , Tandem Mass Spectrometry
8.
Anal Chem ; 90(20): 12230-12238, 2018 10 16.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30204416

ABSTRACT

The work describes the chromatographic separation optimization of polar lipids on Kinetex-EVO, particularly focusing on sulfolipids in spirulina microalgae ( Arthrospira platensis). Gradient shape and mobile-phase modifiers (pH and buffer) were tested on lipid standards. Different conditions were evaluated, and resolution, peak capacity, and peak shape were calculated both in negative mode, for sulfolipids and phospholipids, and in positive mode, for glycolipids. A high-confidence lipid identification strategy was also applied. In collaboration with software creators and developers, Lipostar was implemented to improve the identification of phosphoglycerolipids and to allow the identification of glycosylmonoradyl- and glycosyldiradyl-glycerols classes, the last being the main focus of this work. By this approach, an untargeted screening also for searching lipids not yet reported in the literature could be accomplished. The optimized chromatographic conditions and database search were tested for lipid identification first on the standard mixture, then on the polar lipid extract of spirulina microalgae, for which 205 lipids were identified.


Subject(s)
Lipids/analysis , Microalgae/chemistry , Spirulina/chemistry , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Mass Spectrometry , Plant Extracts/chemistry
9.
Food Chem ; 158: 392-400, 2014 Sep 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-24731360

ABSTRACT

In this work, liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and solid phase extraction (SPE), of polyphenols from a VOO sample were optimised by a Plackett-Burman experimental design; then the two extraction techniques capabilities were compared. By using HPLC-DAD, the extraction ability of SPE with the diol phase and LLE were similar. The two methods were further evaluated with ultra HPLC-ESI QToF in negative ion mode by recoveries of standards and matched comparison of the peak area of 40 identified and 27 unidentified compounds. Conclusions indicate that LLE gives better recoveries for highly polar, non-polar, and some polyphenols suspected to contain a nitrogen atom, while for the others the two methods seem to be equally suitable. The presence of nitrogen-containing polyphenols was confirmed in positive ionisation mode in LLE extract, whereas in the SPE extract they were not present. One of them was tentatively identified as a compound containing tyrosine and methyl-decarboxymetyl-eleanoic acid moieties.


Subject(s)
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods , Liquid-Liquid Extraction/methods , Mass Spectrometry/methods , Plant Oils/chemistry , Polyphenols/chemistry , Solid Phase Extraction/methods , Olive Oil
10.
J Chromatogr A ; 1313: 62-77, 2013 Oct 25.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23866124

ABSTRACT

Food safety can be compromised by the presence of a wide variety of substances, deriving from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Among these substances, compounds exhibiting various degrees of estrogenic activity have been widely studied in environmental samples, whereas less attention has been devoted to food matrices. The aim of the present review is to give a general overview on the recent analytical methods based on gas or liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry for the determination of estrogen-like compounds in foods, including new developments, improvements and upcoming trends in the field. Attention will be focused on four representative groups of compounds, i.e. natural and synthetic estrogens, mycoestrogens, phytoestrogens, and alkylphenols.


Subject(s)
Chromatography, Liquid/methods , Endocrine Disruptors/analysis , Estradiol Congeners/analysis , Food Analysis/methods , Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/methods , Phytoestrogens/analysis , Food Safety
11.
Anal Bioanal Chem ; 401(9): 2977-85, 2011 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-21935599

ABSTRACT

Pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE, also known as subcritical water extraction) is commonly considered to be an environmentally friendly extraction technique that could potentially replace traditional methods that use organic solvents. Unfortunately, the applicability of this technique is often limited by the very low water solubility of the target compounds, even at high temperatures. In this paper, the scope for broadening the applicability of PHWE by adjusting the pH of the water used in the extraction is demonstrated in the extraction of curcumin (which exhibits very limited water solubility) from untreated turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) rhizomes. Although poor extraction yields were obtained, even at high temperatures when using degassed water or neutral phosphate buffer as the extraction medium, yields exceeding those obtained by Soxhlet extraction were achieved using highly acidic pH buffers due to curcumin protonation. The influence of the temperature, pH, and buffer concentration on the extraction yield were investigated in detail by means of a series of designed experiments. Optimized conditions for the extraction of curcumin from turmeric by PHWE were estimated at 197 °C using 62 g/L buffer concentration at pH 1.6. The relationships between these variables were subjected to statistical analysis using response surface methodology.


Subject(s)
Chemistry, Pharmaceutical/methods , Curcuma/chemistry , Curcumin/analysis , Liquid Phase Microextraction/methods , Plant Extracts/chemistry , Rhizome/chemistry , Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid , Hot Temperature , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Mass Spectrometry , Pressure , Solubility , Solvents/chemistry , Water
12.
Anal Chim Acta ; 596(1): 141-8, 2007 Jul 16.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-17616251

ABSTRACT

A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric with electrospray ionization (LC/ESI-MS/MS) method for determining the four naturally occurring aflatoxins (AFs) B1, B2, G1, and G2 in olive oil is proposed. AFs were extracted from oil sample by means of matrix solid phase dispersion (MSPDE), utilizing C18 as dispersing material. No further purification step, such as lipid removal, was performed. Aflatoxin M1, the hepatic metabolite of AFB1, was employed as internal standard. Olive oil extract was analyzed by LC/ESI-MS/MS in positive ionization mode, with multireaction monitoring acquisition. Due to a signal suppression ranging between 4 and 23%, quantitation was performed by matrix-matched calibration curves. The regression line coefficients of determination were above 0.9991. Sample recoveries ranged from 92 to 107%, with relative standard deviations below 13% for spiking levels between 0.5 and 5 ng g(-1); method quantification limits ranged between 0.04 and 0.12 ng g(-1). The developed LC/ESI-MS/MS method, although not as sensitive as LC coupled to fluorescence detection, is rapid, selective, accurate and precise, thus it can be used as confirmatory assay. The MSPDE appears suitable for application to other oleaginous matrices and for multiresidue investigation.


Subject(s)
Aflatoxins/analysis , Chromatography, Liquid/methods , Plant Oils/chemistry , Tandem Mass Spectrometry/methods , Olive Oil , Sensitivity and Specificity , Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization
13.
Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom ; 19(21): 3143-58, 2005.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-16200659

ABSTRACT

A mass spectrometric method for extensive detection and semi-quantitative determination of flavonoid glycosides in stem and leaves of young Triticum durum plants is presented. About 100 g of sample were lyophilized and ground, and the compounds of interest were then extracted, cleaned-up, and fractionated using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Tandem mass spectrometry analyses were performed using a quadrupole-linear ion trap instrument with an information-dependent data acquisition (IDA) protocol that looped two experiments, enhanced MS scan and enhanced product ion scan. Various glycoconjugates, which are all derivatives of only four flavones, apigenin, luteolin, chrysoeriol and tricin, were identified and belong to the following categories: 7 monoglycosides, 31 diglycosides, 15 triglycosides and 1 tetraglycoside. Among these some acylated glycosides were found. Tricin derivatives are present exclusively as O-glycosides, while apigenin and luteolin are present always as C-glycosides. Semi-quantitative estimation was performed by using the monoglycoside and diglycoside of quercetin as internal standards.


Subject(s)
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid , Flavonoids/chemistry , Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization/methods , Triticum/chemistry , Apigenin/analysis , Apigenin/chemistry , Flavones , Flavonoids/analysis , Glycosylation , Luteolin/analysis , Luteolin/chemistry , Plant Extracts/chemistry
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