Simultaneous quantification of phenolic compounds in buriti fruit (Mauritia flexuosa L.f.) by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry

- A sensitive method for simultaneous quantification of 13 phenolics was developed and validated by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS.
- Different quality controls were applied for testing the method.
- The method was applied for buriti fruits.

A novel analytical approach based on UHPLC-ESI(−)-MS/MS has been performed and evaluated for the identification and quantification of phenolic compounds (phenolic acids and flavonoids/catechins) in buriti (Mauritia flexuosa L.f.) fruit pulp. Due to the selectivity provided by MMR monitoring, UHPLC separation required only 10 min per analysis. Linearity (0.994 < r2 < 0.999), limit of detection (8.39-109.80 pg mL− 1) and limit of quantification (25.42-332.90 pg mL− 1), inter- and intraday accuracies (> 80%) and precisions (CV < 20%), and recovery rate (< 80%) show that the developed method is reliable to analyze phenolic compounds in fruit extracts. Among the thirteen phenolic compounds analyzed by proposed method, buriti fruit pulp extract showed 6 phenolic acids such as p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, caffeic acid, protocatechuic acid, chlorogenic acid and quinic acid and 7 flavonoids such as (+)-catechin, (−)-epicatechin, apigenin, luteolin, myricetin, kaempferol and quercetin. As a conclusion, the method was successfully developed and applied representing a contribution to the chemical characterization and quantification of phenolic compounds from buriti fruits which have acknowledged antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.