A versatile targeted metabolomics method for rapid quantification of multiple classes of phenolics in fruit and beverages

Compelling evidence of the health benefits of phenolic compounds and their impact on food quality have stimulated the development of analytical methods for the identification and quantification of these compounds in different matrices in recent years. We have developed a targeted metabolomics method for the quantification of 140 phenolics,such as benzoates, phenylpropanoids, coumarins, stilbenes, dihydrochalcones and flavonoids in fruit and tea extracts and wine using UPLC-MS/MS. Chromatography was optimised to achieve separation of the compounds over a period of 15 minutes and MRM transitions were selected for accurate quantification. The effectiveness of the method was validated by studying the detection and quantification limits, the linearity ranges of instrumental response and the repeatability of the analysis. The method was validated for the analysis of apples, berries, green tea and red wine and represents a valuable tool for food quality evaluation and breeding studies.