Qualitative Determination of β-Acids and Their Transformation Products in Beer and Hop Using HR/AM-LC-MS/MS

Hops represent an important source of beta-acids with antimicrobial and sensory properties. Transformation products of beta-acids formed during their oxidation, mainly hulupones, have been shown to have an interesting kind of bitterness. Their structures were recently elucidated using LC-TOFMS and 1D/2D NMR in solution after thermal treatment of the hop beta-acids. This study demonstrates the advantages of MS detection with high resolution and accurate mass measurements. The structure of transformation products in an experimental solution of oxidized beta-acids was elucidated using a newly developed method by hybrid quadrupole-Orbitrap MS. In addition to already known structures, two new ones were identified and named epoxycohulupone and epoxyhulupone. The method was verified on real samples; the profiles of these products in Sladek hops harvested in 2008 and 2012 and in corresponding beers were compared. For this purpose, a new QuEChERS assay was used for the preparation of beer samples.