Flavonols and ellagic acid derivatives in peels of different species of jabuticaba (Plinia spp.) identified by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MSn

Extracts of jabuticaba peels show complex chromatographic profiles at 360 nm, with some peaks presenting UV-Vis spectra resembling those of flavonol glycosides and others resembling that of ellagic acid. The presence and tentative identification of these phenolic compounds were comprehensively studied in four species of Brazilian jabuticaba fruit - Plinia trunciflora, variety 'jabuticaba de cabinho'; P. caulifora, varieties 'jabuticaba paulista' and 'jabuticaba canaã-açu'; P. jaboticaba, variety 'jabuticaba sabará'; and P. phitrantha, variety 'jabuticaba branca-vinho' - using HPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn. Seventeen flavonols derived from quercetin and three from myricetin and eighteen derivatives of ellagic acid and eleven of methyl ellagic acid were detected. Most of them were newly described and mainly occurred in glycosylated and acylglycosylated forms. Some compounds were missing in one variety, such as the absence of methyl ellagic acid derivatives in 'jabuticaba branca-vinho', and others only appeared in one variety, thus suggesting potential capacity for varietal differentiation.