Rapid screening of low‐molecular‐weight phenols from persimmon (Diospyros kaki) pulp using liquid chromatography/UV–visible/electrospray mass spectrometry analysis

BACKGROUND Persimmon fruits have been widely used in traditional medicine owing to their phenolic composition. This research aims to perform a rapid, detailed and affordable study of the profile of low-molecular-weight phenols from persimmon pulp. RESULTS Two different HPLC-DAD/ESI-MSn analyses were performed using a routine three-dimensional ion trap mass spectrometer to analyze the ethanolic extract of persimmon pulp: (1) an untargeted data-dependent analysis to identify the majority of small phenols that included full MS and MS2 scan events; (2) a targeted data-dependent analysis to identify polymerized phenols (dimers and formic acid adducts) through a source-induced dissociation analysis that included full MS and MS2 scan events. Thirty-two low-molecular-weight phenols were detected, comprising gallic acid and its glycoside and acyl derivatives, glycosides of p-coumaric, vanillic and cinnamic acids and different flavone di-C-hexosides, most of them reported for the first time in persimmon. CONCLUSION The use of a straightforward and affordable methodology of analysis led to obtain an up-to-date profiling of low-molecular-weight phenols in persimmon. The results can help future actions aimed to expand the understanding of the phenolic metabolome of persimmon cultivars. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry