HTGC–MS for determination of flavonol glycosides in nutritional supplement with extract from Vaccinium macrocarpon

Abstract

The presented work focused on determination of derivatives of flavonols presented in American Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon), more specifically glycoside derivatives of quercetin: quercetin-3-O-β-d-galactoside (Q-gal), quercetin-3-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (Q-glu), and quercetin-3-O-α-d-arabinoside (Q-ara), due to their anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antiviral, and antibacterial effects, by high temperature gas chromatography with mass spectrometry detector (HTGC–MS). For this purpose, two-step derivatization was applied to transfer the chosen glycoside derivatives of quercetin into a form suitable for further HTGC–MS analysis. The quality and quantity of chosen derivatives were determined in several nutritional supplements and teas with extract of American cranberry, cranberry juice, cranberry jam, cranberry syrup, dried cranberries, and fresh cranberries. The newly developed analytical procedure can serve as an alternative tool for the analysis of other polar and low-volatility chemicals present in nutritional supplement and herbal products. LOD values were in the range of 0.5 mg kg−1 for Q-glu to 0.6 mg kg−1 for Q-ara, while the LOQ ranged from 1.7 mg kg−1 for Q-glu to 1.9 mg kg−1 for Q-ara.