Quantifying up to 90 polyphenols simultaneously in human bio-fluids by LC-MS/MS

Establishing a method for human biomonitoring (HBM) of polyphenols enables the assessment of internal concentrations of these food bio-actives and the correlation with potential health effects such as antioxidant or antiinflammatory properties. Thus, a targeted LC-MS/MS method for quantifying up to 90 analytes, representing the main polyphenol classes including flavanones, isoflavones, stilbenes, and phenolic acids, was developed for human urine, serum, and plasma. The method was established for low sample volumes and with a cost and time efficient sample preparation protocol for high-throughput, which is critical for its application in large cohort and exposome-wide association studies. On average, the sample preparation yielded extraction efficiencies of 98% for urine, 98% for serum, and 87% for plasma. Limits of detection were between 0.11 ng mL-1 and 300 ng mL-1 for urine, 0.12 ng mL-1 and 190 ng mL-1 for serum, and 0.12 ng mL-1 and 340 ng mL-1 for plasma, excluding one analyte. In-house validation revealed that 66, 49, and 64 analytes for urine, serum, and plasma, respectively, fulfilled all stringent requirements, that are usually utilized for tailored single analyte methods, at all evaluated concentration levels. After validation, this method was applied in a proof-of-principle study that detected 39 polyphenols in urine. Changes in the concentrations of the analytes after the ingestion of a high polyphenol smoothie was examined over 24 h. The study further confirmed that the majority of polyphenols detected were phenolic acids, and phase II conjugated metabolites were more abundant than their respective non-conjugated forms.

Automated summary

Establishing a targeted LC-MS/MS method for human biomonitoring of polyphenols allows for accurate quantification of various polyphenol classes and high-throughput sample processing in large-scale population studies. The method demonstrates high extraction efficiency and low detection limits across multiple sample types. In a validation and proof-of-principle study, the method successfully detected and studied the concentration changes of multiple polyphenols in urine after ingestion of a high polyphenol smoothie.