Determination of polyphenols in Mentha longifolia and M. piperita field-grown and in vitro plant samples using UPLC-TQ-MS

Nine polyphenols in the aerial parts of Mentha longifolia have been separated by chromatographic techniques. Their structures have been confirmed by HPLC/electrospray ionization-MS/MS. The compounds identified included rosmarinic acid, salvianolic acid L, dedihydro-salvianolic acid, luteolin-glucuronide, luteolin-diglucuronide, luteolin-glucopyranosyl-rhamnopyranoside, and eriodictyol-glucopyranosyl-rhamnopyranoside. The extracts of M. longifolia and M. piperita field plants, in vitro plants, callus tissues, and cell suspension cultures were profiled, and their polyphenol composition was compared in different tissues and quantified using ultra-performance column liquid chromatography (UPLC)/triple-quadrupole-MS in the selected-ion recording detection mode. Determination of desired compounds was based on calibration curves obtained for standards, which were previously isolated from M. longifolia aerial parts. The UPLC profiles revealed considerable differences in the synthesis of secondary metabolites among samples coming from field plants, in vitro plants, callus tissues, and cell suspension cultures. Plant tissues coming from field cultivation (for both M. piperita and M. longifolia) contained several phenolic compounds (flavonoids and phenolic acids), whereas plants from in vitro conditions, callus tissues, and suspension cultures contained only a few of them. Rosmarinic acid dominated in all of these samples. These results show that under in vitro conditions, the metabolism of phenolics undergoes a fundamental change.