Phenolic compounds in chilean mistletoe (quintral, Tristerix tetrandus) analyzed by UHPLC-Q/Orbitrap/MS/MS and its antioxidant properties

Abstract

Mass spectrometry has become a method of choice to characterize bioactive compounds in biological samples because of its sensitivity and selectivity. Hybrid ultra-HPLC hyphenated with Orbitrap mass analyzer is an innovative state of the art technology that allows fast and accurate metabolomic analyses. In this work the metabolites of a Chilean mistletoe endemic to the VIII region of Chile were investigated for the first time using UHPLC mass analysis (UHPLC-PDA-HESI-Orbitrap MSn). The anthocyanins, together with the non-pigmented phenolics were fingerprinted and correlated with the antioxidant capacities measured by the bleaching of the DPPH radical, the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), the superoxide anion scavenging activity assay (SA), and total content of phenolics, flavonoids and anthocyanins measured by spectroscopic methods. Six anthocyanins were identified, and among them, the 3-O-glycosides of delphinidin and cyanidin were the major ones. In addition, several phenolic acids (including feruloylquinic acid, feruloyl glucose, chlorogenic acid) and several flavonols (luteolin, quercetin, apigenin, isorhamnetin and glycoside derivatives) were also identified. The mistletoe leaves showed the highest antioxidant activity as measured by the DPPH radical bleaching, ferric reducing antioxidant power and superoxide anion scavenging activity tests (13.38 ± 0.47 μg/mL, 125.32 ± 5.96 μmolTE/g DW and 84.06 ± 4.59 at 100 μg/mL, respectively).