Determination of seventeen sugars and sugar alcohols in fruit juice samples using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry combining response surface methodology design

Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for all organisms to sustain their life activities and probably the most common organic substances in nature, whose main source is grains, starchy vegetables and fruits. To clarify the content and distribution of sugars and sugar alcohols in different fruit species samples accurately, a rapid and sensitive hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC-ESI-MS/MS) method combining ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) and solid phase extraction (SPE) purification was developed for quantitative determination seventeen sugars and sugar alcohols in fruit juice. In this method, the targets were firstly extracted from 1 g of fruit juice sample using 40 mL double-distilled water by ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) for 10 min according to the optimization of response surface methodology (RSM) design. Then, 1.0 mL of UAE extracted solution was cleaned using an amino (NH2) SPE cartridge in the following SPE procedure. Seventeen compounds were separated in 25 min using the HILIC column by a gradient with 0.1% of ammonium hydroxide and acetonitrile as mobile phase. The HILIC-MS/MS method was validated, with the following studies including limit of detection, linearity range, stability and recovery. The limits of detection (LOD) were between 1.2 and 228 ng/g and linear correlation coefficients (R2) were more than 0.994. The average recoveries of 17 sugars and sugar alcohols ranging from 81.8 to 114.9%. The results showed that inter-day and intra-day precision were found to be within acceptable range. The strategy was successfully used for profiling of sugars and sugar alcohols in various fruit juice matrices.

Automated summary

In this study, a rapid and sensitive HILIC-ESI-MS/MS method combining UAE and SPE purification was developed to accurately determine the content and distribution of sugars and sugar alcohols in fruit juice samples. The method involved ultrasonic-assisted extraction and solid phase extraction to extract and purify the compounds. The validated HILIC-MS/MS method showed good performance in terms of quantification and recovery, and was successfully applied to profile the sugars and sugar alcohols in various fruit juice matrices.