Systematic Detection and Identification of Bioactive Ingredients from Citrus aurantium L. var. amara Using HPLC-Q-TOF-MS Combined with a Screening Method.

Miaofen Chen,Jinghong Liu,Liuyi Yu,Xiuqiong Huang,Jianguo Zeng,Zhixing Qing,Wei He

doi:10.3390/molecules25020357

Abstract

Bitter orange, Citrus aurantium L. var. amara (CAVA), is an important crop and its flowers and fruits are widely used in China as a food spice, as well as in traditional Chinese medicine, due to its health-promoting properties. The secondary metabolites that are present in plant-derived foods or medicines are, in part, responsible for the health benefits and desirable flavor profiles. Nevertheless, detailed information about the bioactive ingredients in CAVA is scarce. Therefore, this study was aimed at exploring the phytochemicals of CAVA by high performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Here, a systematic screening method combined with HPLC-Q-TOF-MS was presented. This technique was used to systematically screen metabolites, primarily from the complex matrix of CAVA, and to identify these compounds by their exact masses, characteristic fragment ions, and fragmentation behaviors. A total of 295 metabolites were screened by the screening method and 89 phytochemicals were identified in the flowers, fruits, roots, leaves, and branches of CAVA. For the first time, 69 phytochemicals (flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, etc.) were reported from CAVA. The results highlight the importance of CAVA as a source of secondary metabolites in the food, medicine, and nutraceutical industries.

Highlights

Citrus aurantium L. var. amara (CAVA), known as the bitter or sour orange, is a variant ofC. aurantium L
We present a comprehensive approach to using HPLC-Q-TOF-mass spectrometry (MS), combined with a screening strategy as a rapid, sensitive, and simple method for systematic screening and identification of flavonoids, alkaloids, coumarins, and limonoids in CAVA
Ones exhibiting a high-quality MS response, are easy to detect, while trace analogs, or compounds that exhibit a poor MS response, are always overwhelmed by complex matrices, and are difficult to discover [23,24]. In light of this situation, a method for detecting analogues in CAVA using HPLC-Q-TOF-MS combined with a screening strategy was established (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

Citrus aurantium L. var. amara (CAVA), known as the bitter or sour orange, is a variant ofC. aurantium L. The flowers and fruits of CAVA are recommended medicine, as well as food, by the Chinese Ministry of Health and are widely distributed in Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, and Zhejiang provinces of China [1,2]. Only fourteen flavonoids, three coumarins, one limonin, and two alkaloids were purified and isolated from CAVA [3,6,20,21,22] In addition to these well-known constituents, a number of unknown flavonoids, alkaloids, coumarins, and limonoids were detected by HPLC-Q-TOF-MS in trace amounts and require further investigation

Objectives

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Results

Conclusion