A reversed phase HPLC-DAD method for the determination of phenolic compounds in plant leaves

A simple, fast and efficient HPLC-DAD method was developed for the determination of phenolic compounds in grape leaves. The best separation was achieved in 40 min using gradient elution of methanol, deionized water and acetic acid on a Zorbax plus C18 column (4.6 x 100 mm, 3.5 mu m) at 25 degrees C. The phenolic compounds were identified with the help of a diode array detector at 280, 320 and 360 nm. The method was precise, accurate, specific and highly reproducible for quantitative and qualitative purposes. The method was used to determine the phenolic composition of grape leaves. A total of 13 phenolic compounds were tentatively identified, namely gallic acid, caffeoylmalic acid, pro-anthocyanin B1, coumaroylhexose-4-O-hexoside, gallic acid derivatives, caffeic acid, quercetin-3-malonylglucoside, quercetin-3-glucoside, kaempferol-3-O-sophorotrioside and kaempferol-3-glucoside. The result demonstrates that this method can be successfully used for the quality control in the identification of phenolic compounds in grapes and other matrices of plant origin.