Identification of phenolic compounds from the fruits of the mountain papaya Vasconcellea pubescens A. DC. grown in Chile by liquid chromatography-UV detection-mass spectrometry

The quercetin glycosides rutin and manghaslin were isolated from the fruits of the mountain papaya Vasconcellea pubescens A. DC. grown in Chile by selective fractionation using the bleaching of the free radical scavenger 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH center dot) as the guiding assay. The structures were characterized by spectroscopic methods. Furthermore, 19 phenolic compounds were identified for the first time in the edible fruits by HPLC with UV and ESI-MS-MS detection. Ten of the compounds detected in the fruits and active fractions were tentatively characterized as hydroxycinnamic acid glycosides and nine as quercetin glycoside derivatives. The results provide relevant information on the low molecular weight constituents of this important fruit crop. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.