Este trabalho apresenta a identificação "on line" de flavonas minoritárias do suco da cana-deaçúcar (Saccharum officinarum), por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência com detector UV acoplada à espectrometria de massas (CL/UV/EM) com ionização química à pressão atmosférica, dissociação induzida por colisão (IQPA-DIC-EM/EM) e derivatização pós-coluna utilizando reagentes de deslocamento de UV. As análises CLAE-UV com reagentes de deslocamento forneceram informações sobre a posição da substituição no esqueleto dos flavonóides e, em combinação com dados de EM, estas técnicas permitiram a identificação "on-line" de cinco flavonas da garapa: luteolina-8-C-glucosil-7-O-glucuronídeo; tricina-7-O-neoesperosideo-4'-O-ramnosídeo; tricina-7-O-metilglucuronato-4'-O-ramnosídeo; tricina-7-O-metilglucuronídeo; swertisina; e outras quatro substâncias foram parcialmente identificadas como flavonas glicosiladas. Somente a swertisina (7-O-metilapigenina-6-C-glicosídeo) foi anteriormente descrita no bagaço da cana-de-açúcar.This work describes the on-line characterization of minor flavones from sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) juice by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array UV detection and mass spectrometry (LC/UV/MS) using atmospheric pressure chemical ionizationcollision-induced dissociation (APCI-CID-MS/MS) and post-column derivatization using UV shift reagents. HPLC-UV analysis with shift reagents provided information about the substitution pattern in the flavonoid skeleton and, combined with MS data, these techniques allowed for the on-line identification of five "garapa" flavones: luteolin-8-C-glucosyl-7-O-glucuronide; tricin-7-O-neohesperoside-4'-O-rhamnoside; tricin-7-O-methylglucuronate-4'-O-rhamnoside; tricin-7-O-methylglucuronide; swertisin, while four other compounds were partially identified as glycosylflavones. Only swertisin (7-O-methylapigenin-6-C-glucoside) was reported previously in sugarcane molasses.Keywords: sugarcane juice, Saccharum officinarum L. (Poaceae), flavones, LC/UV/MS, UV shift reagents
IntroductionHyphenated techniques such as liquid chromatography with UV photodiode array detection (HPLC-UV) and on-line liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection-mass spectrometry (HPLC-UV-MS) are powerful techniques for the structural identification of compounds found in extracts prepared from very small amounts of plant material. In the case of plant polyphenolic compounds such as flavonoids and xanthones, the possibility of obtaining on-line UV data by a combination with the post-column addition of UV shift reagents is a very important step to validate the structure assignments proposed for the position of oxygenated groups on the polyphenolic skeleton.1 Recently, HPLC-UV-MS and post-column UV-derivatization were employed in the study of Trifolium extracts containing clovamides, flavonoids and isoflavonoids and their UV data were discussed in detail.2 Hyphenated techniques may be the technique of choice in studies requiring analyses of several plant samples, as in metabolomic studies....