Flavonol composition of Australian red and white wines determined by high-performance liquid chromatography

Abstract

Background and Aims: Flavonols are present in Vitis vinifera L. wine grapes as glycosides and are found in wines in both their glycosidic and aglycone forms. Flavonols and their glycosides are important components in wine because of their impact on colour, taste and health properties. An assessment of the flavonols and flavonol glycosides present in a wide selection of Australian red and white wines (n = 121 and 44, respectively) was undertaken. Methods and Results: Analyses were performed using HPLC, with compound identification being aided by HPLC-MS. In the red wines, quercetin and myricetin dominated the flavonol profile, and quercetin-3-glucuronide was by far the most abundant glycoside present. White wines had considerably lower levels of flavonols and their glycosides, in most cases, being below the detection limit of the HPLC method. Conclusions: There appeared to be no correlation between the flavonol profile and wine variety or region in either white or red wines. Contrary to literature reports of rutin in wine, rutin was not found in any of the wines we analysed, and spiking experiments showed rutin rapidly degraded to the aglycone quercetin. Furthermore, changes in elution order for some quercetin glycoside standards were observed depending upon the acid used in the mobile phase. Significance of the Study: This is the first time the flavonol contents of an extensive cross section of Australian wines have been reported. The concentrations are consistent with those reported in wines from other countries. In light of the instability of rutin in wine, critical review should be given to reports discussing its presence.