Rapid Identification of Flavonoid Constituents Directly from PTP1B Inhibitive Extract of Raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) Leaves by HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS-MS

Many potential health benefits of raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) leaves were attributed to polyphenolic compounds, especially flavonoids. In this study, the methanol extract of R. idaeus leaves showed significant protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B (PTP1B) inhibitory activity with IC50 value of 3.41 +/- 0.01 mu g mL(-1). Meanwhile, a rapid and reliable method, employed high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry, was established for structure identification of flavonoids from PTP1B inhibitive extract of R. idaeus leaves using accurate mass measurement and characteristic fragmentation patterns. A total of 16 flavonoids, including 4 quercetin derivatives, 2 luteolin derivatives, 8 kaempferol derivatives and 2 isorhamnetin derivatives, were identified. Compounds 3 and 4, Compounds 6 and 7 and Compounds 15 and 16 were isomers with different aglycones and different saccharides. Compounds 8, 9 and 10 were isomers with the same aglycone and the same saccharide but different substituent positions. Compounds 11 and 12 were isomers with the same aglycone but different saccharides. Compounds 2, 8, 9 and 10 possessed the same substituent saccharide of glycuronic acid. Most of them were reported in R. idaeus for the first time.