RESEARCH ARTICLE Identification of Proanthocyanidins from Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) Pulp by LC-ESI- Q-TOF-MS and Their Antioxidant Activity Qiang Lv1, Fenglei Luo1, Xiaoyong Zhao1, Yu Liu2, Guibing Hu3, Chongde Sun1, Xian Li1*, Kunsong Chen1 1 Laboratory of Fruit Quality Biology/The State Agriculture Ministry Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Growth, Development and Quality Improvement, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, PR China, 2 College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, PR China, 3 College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China *
[email protected] Abstract Content of total proanthocyanidins as well as total phenolics, flavonoids, antioxidant activi- ties were evaluated for litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) pulp of 32 cultivars. One cultivar, OPEN ACCESS Hemaoli, showed the highest total proanthocyanidins and total phenolics, and DPPH or Citation: Lv Q, Luo F, Zhao X, Liu Y, Hu G, Sun C, et ABTS radical scavenging activities. ESI-MS and NMR analysis of the Hemaoli pulp crude al. (2015) Identification of Proanthocyanidins from epi Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) Pulp by LC-ESI-Q- extracts (HPCE) showed that procyandins composed of ( )catechin unites with degree of TOF-MS and Their Antioxidant Activity. PLoS ONE polymerization (DP) of 2–6 were dominant proanthocyanidins in HPCE. After the HPCE 10(3): e0120480. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0120480 was fractionated by a Sephadex LH-20 column, 32 procyanidins were identified by LC-ESI- Academic Editor: Hitoshi Ashida, Kobe University, Q-TOF-MS in litchi pulp for the first time. Quantification of individual procyanidin in HPCE in- JAPAN dicated that epicatechin, procyanidin B2, procyanidin C1 and A-type procyanidin trimer Received: August 15, 2014 were the main procyanidins.