Characterization of Stevia leaves by LC-QTOF MS/MS analysis of polar and non-polar extracts.

Stevia is currently a well-known plant thanks to its sweeting power. Numerous studies that elucidate its composition were exclusively focused on determination of steviol and its glycosides. Untargeted analysis was applied to obtain a profile of main compounds present in extracts from Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) leaves using LC-MS in high resolution mode with a quadrupole-time of flight analyzer. Eighty-nine compounds were tentatively identified and classified into different families: flavonoids; quinic and caffeic acids and derivatives; diterpenoids (including steviol and glycosides); sesquiterpenoids; amino acids and derivatives; fatty amides and derivatives; fatty acids and derivatives; oligosaccharides; glycerolipids; purines; and retinoids. New steviol glycosides were tentatively identified and their possible structures proposed. Other compounds were tentatively identified in Stevia for the first time, such as fatty acid amides. These results reveal the wide range of compounds present in Stevia, which could be responsible for the nutraceutical effects ascribed to their leaves.

Development and application of a quantitative method based on LC-QqQ MS/MS for determination of steviol glycosides in Stevia leaves.

Stevia is a currently well-known plant thanks to the presence of steviol glycosides, which are considered as sweeteners obtained from a natural source. In this research, a method based on LC-MS/MS by using a triple quadrupole detector was developed for quantitation of 8 steviol glycosides in extracts from Stevia leaves. The ionization and fragmentation parameters for selected reaction monitoring were optimized. Detection and quantitation limits ranging from 0.1 to 0.5ng/mL and from 0.5 to 1ng/mL, respectively, were achieved: the lowest attained so far. The steviol glycosides were quantified in extracts from leaves of seven varieties of Stevia cultivated in laboratory, greenhouse and field. Plants cultivated in field presented higher concentration of steviol glycosides than those cultivated in greenhouse. Thus, the way of cultivation clearly influences the concentration of these compounds. The inclusion of branches together with leaves as raw material was also evaluated, showing that this inclusion modifies, either positively or negatively, the concentration of steviol glycosides.