Separation of Isomeric Forms of Urolithin Glucuronides Using Supercritical Fluid Chromatography

Urolithins are gut microbiota metabolites produced in humans after consuming foods containing ellagitannins and ellagic acid. Three urolithin metabotypes have been reported for different individuals depending on the final urolithins produced. After absorption, they are conjugated with glucuronic acid (phase II metabolism), and these are the main circulating metabolites in plasma and reach different tissues. Different regioisomeric isomers of urolithin glucuronides have been described. Still, their identification and quantification in humans have not been properly reported due to resolution limitations in their analysis by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. In the present study, we report a novel method for separating these isomers using supercritical fluid chromatography. With this method, urolithin A 3- and 8-glucuronide, isourolithin A 3- and 9glucuronide, and urolithin B 3-glucuronide (8-hydroxy urolithin 3-glucuronide; 3-hydroxy urolithin 8-glucuronide; 3hydroxyurolithin 9-glucuronide; 9-hydroxyurolithin 3-glucuronide; and urolithin 3-glucuronide) were separated in less than 15 min. The proposed method was applied to successfully analyze these metabolites in urine samples from different volunteers belonging to different metabotypes.

Automated summary

Urolithins are metabolites produced in humans after consuming foods with ellagitannins and ellagic acid. This study reports a novel method for separating different isomers of urolithin glucuronides using supercritical fluid chromatography. The proposed method successfully analyzed these metabolites in urine samples from volunteers of different metabotypes.