Phenolic profiles of Lauraceae plant species endemic to Laurisilva forest: A chemotaxonomic survey

In this work, the phenolic composition of several trees endemic to Madeira archipelago (Portugal) was studied. Specifically, the leaves of the most relevant species of the Lauraceae family (Laurus novocanariensis, Apollonias barbujana, Ocotea foetens, and Persea indica) have been analyzed. The screening of the main phenolic compounds in their methanol extracts has been performed by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-ESI-MSn), identifying or tentatively characterizing almost 100 compounds, including a high number of proanthocyanidins (A- and B-type), which have been reported to present remarkable health benefits. Thirty-four compounds have been quantified, observing total individual phenolic contents (TIPCs) between 18.43 and 88.99 mg g−1 dry extract, with the lowest TIPC in O. foetens and the highest in A. barbujana.