A Study of Interaction between Flavonoids and the Parallel Quadruplex Structure [d(TGGGGT)]4 by Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

In this study, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS) was used to investigate interaction of 21 flavonoids (10 aglycones and 11 glycosides) with the parallel quadruplex structure [d(TGGGGT)]₄. Relative binding affinities of flavonoids toward [d(TGGGGT)]₄ were estimated based on the fraction of bound DNA. It was found that [d(TGGGGT)]₄ showed a binding preference to the flavonoid glycosides over flavonoid aglycones. It was deduced that glycosylation played a key role for the [d(TGGGGT)]₄‐binding properties of flavonoid glycosides. Upon collision‐induced dissociation, complexes of flavonoid/[d(TGGGGT)]₄ underwent the loss of flavonoids, suggesting an end‐stacking binding mode. The current work demonstrates that ESI‐MS is a powerful tool in the study of interaction between drugs and nucleic acids.     

Neutral loss scan in complement with high-resolution MS/MS: Combination of detection methods for flavonoid and limonoid glycosides analysis

In this study, neutral loss scan and high-resolution MS/MS were used in combination to detect and tentatively identify various flavonoid and limonoid glycosides in navel orange albedo, juice, peel and pulp. These compound classes are of research interest due to their flavour and bioactive properties, and although flavonoid glycosides have been previously studied in other food matrices, to the best of our knowledge, neutral loss scans have not been used for the elucidation of limonoid glycosides. Neutral loss masses of 120, 162 and 308 Da were selected for the detection of hexose, rutinose and neohesperidose-substituted flavonoids, whereas 197 Da was explored for limonoid glycosides due to their tendency to form ammonium adducts. Fragmentation patterns obtained from targeted MS/MS were then used to differentiate rutinose and neohesperidose substituents as well as flavonoid subclasses of flavones, flavanones and flavonols. Additionally, high-resolution MS/MS was also used for the identification of aglycones by accurate mass (to four decimal places), allowing for the differentiation of aglycones with similar unit masses but different chemical formulas. In total, 19 flavonoid glycosides and six limonoid glycosides were detected. This workflow allows for a rapid screening of flavonoid and limonoid glycosides in citrus, which can be further extended to other food products such as tea.     

超高效液相色谱-四极杆串联飞行时间质谱分析黄酮类化合物及小毛茛茎叶的成分

为了探索液相色谱-质谱联用(LC-MS)技术在快速识别中药及天然产物成分中的应用,以黄酮对照品为研究前体,药用植物小毛茛为研究对象,采用超高效液相色谱/二极管阵列检测器-电喷雾四极杆串联飞行时间质谱(UPLC/DAD-ESI/Q-TOF MS)分析了黄酮类化合物同系物及同分异构体的色谱、质谱特性。结果显示:黄酮氧苷和黄酮碳苷的紫外吸收光谱及二级质谱具有显著性差异,糖苷化位置同保留时间、二级质谱碎片及相对丰度具有相关性。将该方法应用于小毛茛茎叶醇提液的分析,结合其酸水解液的分析,解析了22个黄酮醇糖苷和3个苷元。方法简便,具有可操作性。     

On-line identification of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) methoxyflavones by liquid chromatography-UV detection using post-column derivatization and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L., Gramineae) bagasse and leaves were investigated for their flavonoid content and transgenic sugarcane ("Bowman-Birk" and "Kunitz") was compared with non-modified ("control") plants. Analyses were carried out by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array UV detection (LC/UV), also using post-column addition of shift reagents, and tandem MS (atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-MS/MS and collision-induced dissociation-MS). On-line UV and MS data demonstrated the presence of methoxyflavone glycosides and aglycones in a total of seven compounds. Three naturally occurring flavones glycosides and two unusual erythro- and threo-diastereoisomeric flavolignan 7-O-glucosides were identified together with their aglycones.     

Evaluation of flavonoids binding to DNA duplexes by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

In this study, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) was used to investigate the binding interactions of ten flavonoid aglycones and ten flavonoid glycosides with DNA duplexes. Relative binding affinities of the flavonoids toward DNA duplexes were estimated based on the fraction of bound DNA. The results revealed that the 4'-OH group of flavonoid aglycones was essential for their DNA-binding properties. Flavonoid glycosides with sugar chain linked on ring A or ring B showed enhanced binding toward the duplexes over their aglycone counterparts, whereas glycosylation of the flavonol quercetin on ring C exhibited a less pronounced effect. The aglycone skeletons and other hydroxyl substitutions on the aglycone also have an effect on the fractions of bound DNA. Upon collision-induced dissociation, the complexes containing flavonoid aglycones underwent the predominant ejection of a neutral ligand molecule, suggesting an intercalative DNA-binding mode. However, for complexes containing flavonoid glycosides, the loss of nucleobase increased to different extents, indicating a stronger binding or different binding mode. The results may provide not only a deeper insight into the DNA-binding properties of flavonoids but also a useful guideline for the design of efficient DNA-binding agents for chemotherapy.     

Analysis of heartsease (Viola tricolor L.) flavonoid glycosides by micro-liquid chromatography coupled to multistage mass spectrometry

Micro-liquid chromatography (microLC) in conjunction with multistage mass spectrometry (MSn) was introduced to study several major heartsease flavonoid glycosides. High-resolution microLC separation was achieved by using a monolithic poly(p-methylstyrene-co-1,2-bis(p-vinylphenyl)ethane) column under reversed-phase conditions. The MS/MS and MS3 analysis of the flavonoid components of interest provided data about their glycosylation type and position, nature of their aglycones, and the structure/linkage information of their glycan moieties. With our microLC-MSn approach, four flavonol O-glycosides, nine flavone-C-glycosides, and three flavone C,O-glycosides were characterized in heartsease methanol extract. All of these glycoconjugates were found to be the derivatives of six aglycones: apigenin, chrysoeriol, isorhamnetin, kaempferol, luteolin, and quercetin.     

Retention of β blockers on native titania stationary phase

In recent years, metal oxides such as titania have been commercially available as chromatographic beds that can potentially be used to achieve novel separations of polar compounds. For example β blockers, which are more often encountered in environmental sciences, have a wide range of polarity, and their basic character leads to difficult sample treatment and separation on conventional silica‐based sorbents. The contribution of titania to the selective analysis of nine β blockers was evaluated in terms of retention mechanisms observed in hydrophilic interaction LC using acetonitrile/water mobile phases with various additives. The mobile phase additives enabled to control the β blocker charge as well as the titania surface charge. Depending on their respective ionic state, various retention mechanisms were identified at low water contents (<40%), including mainly adsorption mixed with hydrophilic interaction LC partition, ion exchange and ion exclusion. An unexpected retention was also observed for high water content and high pH, changing the selectivity of the support.     

Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis allows the simultaneous characterization of C-glycosyl and O-glycosyl flavonoids in stingless bee honeys

The analysis of the phytochemicals present in stingless bee honey samples has been a difficult task due to the small amounts of samples available and to the complexity of the phytochemical composition that often combines flavonoid glycosides and aglycones. Honey samples produced in Venezuela from Melipona species were analyzed using a combination of solid-phase extraction and HPLC-DAD-MSn/ESI methodologies with specific study of the fragment ions produced from flavonoid glycosides. The analyses revealed that flavonoid glycosides were the main constituents. The honey samples analyzed contained a consistent flavonoid pattern composed of flavone-C-glycosides, flavonol-O-glycosides and flavonoid aglycones. The HPLC-DAD-MSn/ESI analysis and the study of the fragment ions obtained allowed the characterization and quantification for the first time of five apigenin-di-C-glycosides, and ten quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin O-glycosides (di- and tri- glycosides), and the aglycones pinobanksin, quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin in the different samples. This is the first report of flavonoid-C-glycosides in honey. The results show that the content of flavonoid-glycosides (mean values of 2712 μg/100 g) in stingless bee honeys is considerably higher than the content of flavonoid aglycones (mean values of 315 μg/100 g). This differs from previous studies on Apis mellifera honeys that consistently showed much higher aglycone content and smaller flavonoid glycoside content. The occurrence of relevant amounts of flavonoid glycosides, and particularly C-glycosides, in stingless bee honeys could be associated with their putative anticataract properties.     

Analysis and retention behavior of isoflavone glycosides and aglycones in Radix Astragali by HPLC with hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin as a mobile phase additive

In order to determine isoflavone glycosides (calycosin‐7‐O‐β‐d ‐glucoside and formononetin‐7‐O‐β‐d ‐glucoside) and aglycones (calycosin and formononetin), a simple HPLC method with isocratic elution employing hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin (HP‐β‐CD) as a mobile phase additive was developed. Various factors affecting the retention of isoflavone glycosides and aglycones in the C₁₈ reversed‐phase column, such as the nature of cyclodextrins, HP‐β‐CD concentration, and methanol concentration, were systematically studied. The results show that HP‐β‐CD, as a very effective mobile phase additive, can markedly reduce the retention of isoflavone glycosides and aglycones, and the decrease magnitudes of isoflavone aglycones are more than those of their glycosides. The role of HP‐β‐CD in the developed HPLC method is attributed to the formation of the inclusion complexes between isoflavone glycosides (or aglycones) and HP‐β‐CD. So, the apparent formation constants of the isoflavone glycosides (or aglycones)/HP‐β‐CD inclusion complexes also were investigated. Isoflavone glycosides (and aglycones) form the 1:1 inclusion complexes with HP‐β‐CD, and the isoflavone aglycones/HP‐β‐CD complexes are more stable than the isoflavone glycosides/HP‐β‐CD complexes. Finally, the optimized method was successfully applied for the determination of isoflavone glycosides and aglycones in Radix Astragali samples.     

Separation of carboxylates by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography on titania

Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) can be performed on titania. To better understand the retention mechanisms on titania, a series of model carboxylates were used. Increasing acetonitrile above 60% dramatically increased the retention and efficiency for carboxylates. The effect of buffer type, buffer concentration, buffer pH and column temperature were also studied. Multiple retention mechanisms are operative on titania, and whether electrostatic repulsion, ligand exchange or HILIC dominates retention and separation depends on the eluent conditions. Guidelines for separations on titania are: (1) higher %ACN most improves retention and efficiency; (2) higher salt concentration increases retention; (3) elution strength is in the order acetate ? malate < methyl phosphonate ? phosphate; (4) electrostatic repulsion (ERLIC) is more operative at low %ACN than high %ACN. A bare titania column (150 mm × 4.6 mm I.D., 5 μm) was used for the separation of diphenylacetate, 4-nitrobenzoate, benzoate, 4-aminobenzoate, 4-hydroxybenzoate, phthalate, 3-aminophthalate, 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate, 1,2,4-benzenetricarboxylate, 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylate, benzenepentabenzoate and mellitate under HILIC conditions based on these guidelines, with efficiencies of 2800–55,000 plates/m.     

Use of the Synthesized Titania Monolith to Determine Benzoic Acid and Vanillin in Foodstuffs by HPLC

A simple and reliable HPLC method for the determination of benzoic acid and vanillin in food samples has been developed, in which a pure titania monolithic column synthesized through a template-free sol-gel synthesis route was used as chromatography column. To fully understand the retention mechanism of benzoic acid and vanillin on titania, acetonitrile (ACN) percentage, buffer concentration, and buffer pH of the mobile phase were investigated. The retention mechanism of benzoic acid and vanillin on the titania monolith column belongs to hydrophilic interaction and ligand exchange. When the high %ACN and appropriate acetate existed in eluent, the hydrophilic interaction was the dominant retention mode. Benzoic acid and vanillin in preserved fruit and jelly samples were successfully determined and quantitative analysis was carried out by external standard method with correlation coefficient (R ² ) of 0.9994 for benzoic acid and 0.9989 for vanillin. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of benzoic acid and vanillin were 0.94% and 1.50%, respectively. The developed titania-based HPLC method is simple, rapid, accurate, and competent for the separation of polar and hydrophilic compounds, and this work has also promoted the application of titania monolith in chromatographic separation.     

Novel isolation of phytochemical compositions by phase transition extraction with acetonitrile

Based on the phenomenon that hydrophilic acetonitrile can be separated from water by adding a hydrophobic solvent, a phase transition extraction (PTE) method for isolation of phytochemical compositions was developed. The isolation efficiency of the proposed method was assessed in complete grouping of the constituents in three important traditional Chinese medicine plants. Further study of the PTE for Scutellaria bacalensis Georgi found that the constituents in the organic phase are all flavonoid aglycones while the ones in the aqueous phase are all flavonoid glycosides, revealing the property of high structure selectivity for the proposed PTE process. The effect of using different modifiers on the isolation efficiency was investigated. The results obtained by using non-oxygenated hydrophobic solvents are perfect while those by inorganic salts are acceptable, but those by oxygenated hydrophobic solvents are bad. Subsequent GC analysis revealed that the solvent composition difference between the two separated phases among PTE processes using different types of modifier is responsible for the different isolation results obtained. Finally, the proposed method was proved to be insensitive to both the acetonitrile concentration and the added amount of modifier.     

Liquid chromatographic/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric study of the phenolic composition of cocoa (Theobroma cacao)

Liquid chromatography coupled with ionspray mass spectrometry in the tandem mode (LC/MS/MS) with negative ion detection was used for the identification of a variety of phenolic compounds in a cocoa sample. Gradient elution with water and acetonitrile, both containing 0.1% HCOOH, was used. Standard solutions of 31 phenolic compounds, including benzoic and cinnamic acids and flavonoid compounds, were studied in the negative ion mode using MS/MS product ion scans. At low collisional activation, the deprotonated molecule [M - H](-) was observed for all the compounds studied. For cinnamic and benzoic acids, losses of CO(2) or formation of [M - CH(3)](-*) in the case of methoxylated compounds were observed. However, for flavonol and flavone glycosides, the spectra present both the deprotonated molecule [M - H](-) of the glycoside and the ion corresponding to the deprotonated aglycone [A - H](-). The latter ion is formed by loss of the rhamnose, glucose, galactose or arabinose residue from the glycosides. Different fragmentation patterns were observed in MS/MS experiments for flavone-C-glycosides which showed fragmentation in the sugar part. Fragmentation of aglycones provided characteristic ions for each family of flavonoids. The optimum LC/MS/MS conditions were applied to the characterization of a cocoa sample that had been subjected to an extraction/clean-up procedure which involved chromatography on Sephadex LH20 and thin-layer chromatographic monitoring. In addition to compounds described in the literature, such as epicatechin and catechin, quercetin, isoquercitrin (quercetin-3-O-glucoside) and quercetin-3-O-arabinose, other compounds were identified for the first time in cocoa samples, such as hyperoside (quercetin-3-O-galactoside), naringenin, luteolin, apigenin and some O-glucosides and C-glucosides of these compounds.     

Thermal analysis study of flavonoid solid dispersions having enhanced solubility

Purposes of this paper were to prepare and study new drug delivery systems for both flavanone glycosides and their aglycones based on solid-dispersion systems. These compounds are poor water soluble drugs, so an enhancement of their dissolution is a high priority. Solid-dispersion systems were prepared using PVP, PEG and mannitol as drug carrier matrices. Characterizations of these dispersions were done by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The glass transition (T_g) temperature of PVP was only recorded in the DSC thermograms of PVP solid-dispersions of both flavanone glycosides and their aglycones, while in case of PEG and mannitol solid-dispersions endotherms of both glycosides and aglycones were noticed with low peak intensity, indicating that high percent of drug is in amorphous state. The XRD patterns of all PVP solid-dispersions of aglycones show typical amorphous materials, but XRD patterns of their glycosides reveal the presence of crystalline material. However, in all solid dispersions shifts in T_g of PVP as well as T_m of PEG were observed, indicating the existence of some interactions between drugs and matrices. SEM and TEM microscopy revealed that PVP/aglycone flavanone compounds are nanodispersed systems while all the other solid dispersions are microcrystalline dispersions. The solubility of both flavanone glycosides and their aglycones was directly affected by the new physical state of solid dispersions. Due to the amorphous drug state or nano-dispersions in PVP matrices, the solubility was enhanced and found to be 100% at pH 6.8 in the nano-dispersion containing 20 mass% of aglycones. Also solubility enhancement was occurred in solid dispersions of PEG and mannitol, but it was lower than that of PVP nano-dispersions due to the presence of the drug compounds in crystalline state in both matrices.     

Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry reveals the widespread occurrence of flavonoid glycosides in honey,and their potential as floral origin markers

HPLC-MS–MS analysis of unifloral honey extracts has shown the occurrence of flavonoid glycosides in most of the analyzed samples. These compounds are not present in large amounts, but can reach up to 600 μg/100 g honey in canola and rapeseed honeys. Rhamnosyl-hexosides (tentatively rutinosides and neohesperidosides) and dihexosides (hexosyl(1→2)hexosides and hexosyl(1→6)hexosides) of flavonols such as quercetin, kaempferol, isorhamnetin and 8-methoxykaempferol, are the main flavonoid glycosides found in honey. However, flavonoid triglycosides and monoglycosides are also detected in some floral origins. Eucalyptus and orange blossom nectars were collected and analyzed showing that nectar flavonoid glucosides, as is the case of eucalyptus flavonoids, can be readily hydrolyzed by the bee saliva enzymes, while flavonoid rhamnosyl-glucosides, as is the case of citrus nectar flavonoids, are not hydrolyzed, and because of these reasons the flavonoid glycoside content of citrus honey is higher than that of eucalyptus honey that contains mainly aglycones. The flavonoid glycoside profiles detected in honeys suggest that this could be related to their floral origin and the results show that the HPLC-MSn ion trap analysis of flavonoid glycosides in honey is a promising analytical method to help in the objective determination of the floral origin of unifloral honeys.     

Determination of sulfur oxyanions by ion chromatography on a silica ODS column with tetrapropylammonium salt as an ion-pairing reagent

The difficulty in using conventional ion chromatography for the determination of sulfate, thiosulfate, dithionate and polythionates (tri-, tetra-, penta- and hexathionate) in their mixtures, comes mainly from very late elutions of polythionates due to their strong retentions onto a separating column. Rapid and sensitive determination of these sulfur oxyanions has been achieved by ion-pair chromatography using a silica octadecylsilane (ODS) column with mobile phases of 10% or 20% (v/v) acetonitrile in water (pH, 5.0) containing 0.2 mM phthalate and 7 mM tetrapropylammonium salt (TPAOH). The sulfur species separated on the column were monitored with a conductivity detector after passing through a micro membrane suppressor in the H⁺ form. When an acetonitrile-water (10:90, v/v) mobile phase (pH, 5.0) of 0.2 mM phthalate and 7 mM TPAOH was used at a flow-rate of 0.8 ml min⁻¹, sulfate, thiosulfate, dithionate and trithionate were eluted at short retention times of 9.1, 9.7, 11.4 and 15.8 min, respectively; however, the higher polythionates required more than 30 min to elute. When the concentration of acetonitrile in the mobile phase was raised to 20% (v/v), all polythionates of tri- to hexathionate were completely separated from their mixtures within 21 min; in this instance, both sulfate and thiosulfate failed to be resolved due to their close retention times. Good recoveries were obtained for these sulfur oxyanions when added to various hot-spring water samples.     

Optimization of chromatographic systems for the high-performance thin-layer chromatography of flavonoids

Summary To characterize the retention and selectivity of separations of 23 flavonoids (aglycones and glycosides) relationships betweenR _F and modifier concentration were determined for silica and diol adsorbents (with mixtures of ethyl acetate and methanol as mobile phases), for cyanopropyl silica (with mixtures of ethyl acetate and dichloromethane as mobile phases), for aminopropyl silica (with mixtures of ethyl acetate, methanol and water as mobile phases) and for octadecyl silica (with mixtures of methanol and water as mobile phases). Owing to large polarity differences between aglycones and glycosides, these groups of compounds cannot be separated other than by use of reversed-phase systems, for which the selectivity is lower. It follows from correlation plots ofR _F1 againstR _F2 that for some pairs of adsorbents (e. g. silica and diol) selectivity differences are small; for others the points in the plot are widely dispersed, indicating selectivity differences. The chemometric database obtained can be used to choose optimum chromatographic systems for the separation of given sets of flavonoids and for planning gradient elution programs for separation of flavonoid aglycones and glycosides in a single TLC experiment.     

Characterisation of flavonols in broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica) by liquid chromatography-uV diode-array detection-electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry

The flavonoid composition of broccoli inflorescences has been studied by LC/UV-DAD/ESI-MSn. A large number of hydroxycinnamic acid esters of kaempferol and quercetin glucosides has been characterised. The structures of the flavonoid glycosides were analysed after alkaline hydrolysis, and were identified as 3-sophoroside/sophorotrioside-7-glucoside/sophoroside of kaempferol, quercetin and isorhamnetin (this last found in trace amount). These complex quercetin and isorhamnetin glucosides have not been previously characterised in nature. In addition, several less complex glucosides based on the same aglycones have been identified. The effect of sugar substitution and acylation on chromatographic mobility and ESI ionisation and fragmentation are discussed.     

Determination of flavone, flavonol, and flavanone aglycones by negative ion liquid chromatography electrospray ion trap mass spectrometry

Eleven naturally occurring flavonoid aglycones, belonging to the representative flavone, flavonol, and flavanone types were separated by high performance liquid chromatography and analyzed on-line with negative ion electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). In order to resolve the MS/MS spectra obtained, each compound was reinvestigated by direct loop injections using an ion trap mass spectrometer. The MSn spectra obtained allowed us to propose plausible schemes for their fragmentation supported by the analysis of five complementary synthetic flavonoid aglycones. The negative ion ESI-MS/MS behavior of the different aglycones investigated in this study revealed interesting differences when compared with the previously described patterns obtained using various ionization techniques in positive ion. Thus, concerning the retro Diels-Alder (RDA) fragmentation pathways, several structurally informative anions appeared highly specific of the negative ion mode. In addition, a new lactone-type structure, instead of a ketene, was proposed for a classic RDA diagnostic ion. We also observed unusual CO, CO2, and C3O2 losses which appear to be characteristic of the negative ion mode. All these results and these unusual neutral losses show that the negative ion mode was a powerful complementary tool of the positive ion mode for the structural characterization of flavonoid aglycones by ESI-MS/MS.     

人血清白蛋白柱上药物的手性拆分

考察了４种酸性药物和１种中性药物对映体在人血清白蛋白手性固定相上的保留行为。这５种药物与人血清白蛋白结合的亲和力高，难于实现快速分离，作者提出在流动相中加入短链脂肪酸－正己酸，可快速手性拆分非诺洛芬、萘普生和布洛芬。酮基布洛芬对映体分离选择性随乙腈浓度升高而增大，流动相中加入适量异丙醇可使对映体选择性大大增加（α～１．２３），华法令同样可取得很好分离。