Identification of chemical constituents in pomegranate seeds based on ultra-high-performance supercritical fluid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Abstract

To reveal the main chemical constituents of pomegranate seeds, a reliable and sensitive method based on ultra-high-performance supercritical fluid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MS) was developed. A time-dependent MSE data acquisition mode was applied to acquire the mass spectrometric data. The chemical constituents were identified by an automatic retrieval of a traditional Chinese medicine library and relevant literature. A total number of 59 compounds, including fatty acids, sterols, vitamins, cerebrosides, phospholipids, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, and others, were tentatively identified. Their possible fragmentation pathways and characteristic ions were proposed and elucidated. The findings of this study, along with the developed methodology, could provide a reference for basic research on the pharmacodynamic substances of pomegranate seeds and shed light on their potential nutritional and therapeutic applications in the future.