Determination of phenolic compounds by ultra high liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry: Applications in nuts

•Phenolics were determined by a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in nuts.•Nut samples contained proto-catechuic, gallic, p-coumaric, ferulic, and caffeic acids.•Catechin, and epicatechin are found as flavonoids in nut samples.•Limit of detection range was 1.0-208 mg/L for the studied polyphenolic compounds.•Recovery values were within the range of 92.15 and 102.50%.

A new method for qualitative and quantitative analysis of fourteen common polyphenolic compounds (gallic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic or proto-catechuic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, syringic acid, 2-hydroxycinnamic or o-coumaric acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, rutin, rosmarinic acid, catechin, epicatechin, kaempferol and trans-cinnamic acid) was developed using ultra high liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Selected phenolic compounds were detected in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode and determined simultaneously in a 13-min analysis time and a number of validation parameters (calibration range, limit of detection, limit of quantification, repeatability, precision, and recovery) were studied. To show the usefulness of the method, phenolic compounds were studied in nuts such as hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.), pistachio (Pistaciae vera L.) and almond (Prunus amygdaleus L.).