Exploration of new and alternative sources of targeted bioflavonoids using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Bioflavonoids have exhibited remarkable pharmacological and biological properties. Moreover, many plants rich in flavonoids have been used as natural medicine or functional foods for thousands of years. Here, we introduce a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based approach for the exploration of new/alternative sources of targeted bioflavonoids from plants of the Fabaceae family. The approach includes a selection of the plants from the Digital Library of Indian Medicine Plants and their Metabolites database, the literature survey of selected plant species, and a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based experiment design for targeted analytes. Bioflavonoids were identified and structurally characterized based on tandem mass spectrometry fragmentation, comparing the retention time of authentic standard and multiple reaction monitoring transition for quantitative assessment. As a result of this study, 10 plant species were identified as a new sources of catechin, epicatechin, quercetin-3 4'-di-O-glucoside, isoorientin, orientin, vitexin, isovitexin, rutin, luteolin 7-O-glucoside, isoquercitrin, isorhamnetin-3-O-rutinoside, quercetin, luteolin, and kaempferol. Moreover, 24 plant species were also recognized as alternative sources of targeted bioflavonoids. Moreover, the semi-quantitative analysis of analytes revealed huge variations in the quantity of the analyzed flavonoids among the plants of the Fabaceae family. Consequently, the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based approach was successfully utilized for the exploration of chemical diversity in the Fabaceae family and to identify new/alternative sources of targeted flavonoids.

Automated summary

This study utilized liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based approach to screen and study plants from the Fabaceae family, and identified 10 plant species as new sources of bioflavonoids including catechin, epicatechin, quercetin, etc., and 24 plant species as potential alternative sources. The study also revealed significant variations in the flavonoid content among the plants of the Fabaceae family. This liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based approach provides an effective method for discovering new compounds and alternative sources of bioflavonoids in the Fabaceae family.