In‐time and in‐space tandem mass spectrometry to determine the metabolic profiling of flavonoids in a typical sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) cultivar from Southern Italy

This paper presents a comprehensive analytical methodology, based on ‘in‐time’ and ‘in‐space’ tandem mass spectrometry (MS) techniques, to identify and quantify flavonoid compounds in a typical Italian sweet cherry cultivar (cv. Ferrovia). Five anthocyanins, four flavan‐3‐ols and nine flavonols were determined by means of hyphenated high‐performance liquid chromatography – multi‐stage MS (HPLC‐MSⁿ) analyses (MSⁿ up to MS⁴), among which quercetin‐3‐O‐rutinoside‐7‐O‐glucoside, kaempferol‐3‐O‐rutinoside‐7‐O‐glucoside, quercetin‐3‐O‐galactosyl‐rhamnoside and quercetin‐3‐O‐coumaroylglucoside were tentatively identified in sweet cherries for the first time. Ultrafast HPLC and tandem MS (UHPLC‐MS/MS) analyses through multiple reaction monitoring experiments showed that cyanidin‐3‐O‐rutinoside and cyanidin‐3‐O‐glucoside were the main anthocyanins of cv. Ferrovia at maturity. Moreover, consistent levels of catechin and epicatechin as well as quercetin‐3‐O‐rutinoside and kaempferol‐3‐O‐rutinoside were also found. Because flavonoids have been ascribed as potential health‐promoting compounds, gathered findings provide new insight into the knowledge of the quali‐quantitative profile of these phytochemicals into a widespread fruit such as sweet cherry. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.