Characterization of lemon (Citrus limon) polar extract by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry in high resolution mode

Abstract

Eighty four metabolites (32 flavonoids, 15 amino acids, nine carboxylic acids, six coumarins, six sugars, five phenolic acids and 11 unclassified compounds) have been tentatively identified in a polar extract from lemon, without reference standards, based on their liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight MS/MS spectra and the comparison with databases. Despite information in databases for some families of plant compounds is poor, tentative identification based on MS/MS information (mass of the precursor ion and their fragments, together with neutral mass loss) was possible with the help of known fragmentation patterns for the given families of compounds. Both positive and negative ionization modes and at least two collision energies were always applied to obtain as much information as possible from each molecular entity, thus helping for identification. As the tentatively identified metabolites are the same regardless of the organism they belong, their fragmentation patterns are useful for identification with independence of the sample nature.

Antioxidant Activity and Metabolomic Analysis of Cagaitas (Eugenia dysenterica) using Paper Spray Mass Spectrometry

“…The ion with m/z 206 can be recognized as citropten, based on its transition MS/MS 206→121, which was also observed by Ledesma-Escobar et al 45 when evaluating the identification parameters of coumarins in lemon (Citrus limon) by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The ion with m/z 465 was assigned as delphinidin-3-glucoside, and the confirmation was based on its ion MS 2 (m/z 303, −162 amu), resulting from the loss of a hexose unit.…”

Citrus limon (Lemon) Phenomenon—A Review of the Chemistry, Pharmacological Properties, Applications in the Modern Pharmaceutical, Food, and Cosmetics Industries, and Biotechnological Studies

“…In contrast, the presence of p-hydroxybenzoic acid has been confirmed in the fruit. In the fruit, there are also coumarin compounds, carboxylic acids, carbohydrates, as well as amino acids, a complex of B vitamins, and, importantly, vitamin C (ascorbic acid) ( Tables 3 and 4) [1,12,13,[31][32][33][34][35][36]. Table 4.…”

The Chemistry and Pharmacology of Citrus Limonoids

“…Thus, the tentative identification of all the compounds was based on MS/MS spectra by comparison with databases and without reference standards [173]. A reversed-phase liquid chromatography method coupled to a QTOF-MS was developed to analyze the metabolite profiles of juices from 12 commercial varieties grouped into blonde and navel types, mandarins, lemons, and grapefruits.…”