A comprehensive study on the phenolic profile of widely used culinary herbs and spices: Rosemary, thyme, oregano, cinnamon, cumin and bay
Highlights
- •
- LTQ-Orbitrap-MS was applied for the identification of polyphenols of herbs.
- •
- 52 Phenolic compounds were identified in culinary herbs and spices.
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- Multivariate analysis allowed the assessment of distinctive features among herbs.
- •
- Some polyphenols were reported for the first time in culinary herbs and spices.
Abstract
Herbs
and spices have long been used to improve the flavour of food without
being considered as nutritionally significant ingredients. However, the
bioactive phenolic content of these plant-based products is currently
attracting interest.
In the present work, liquid
chromatography coupled to high-resolution/accurate mass measurement
LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometry was applied for the comprehensive
identification of phenolic constituents of six of the most widely used
culinary herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano and bay) and spices (cinnamon
and cumin). In this way, up to 52 compounds were identified in these
culinary ingredients, some of them, as far as we know, for the first
time. In order to establish the phenolic profiles of the different herbs
and spices, accurate quantification of the major phenolics was
performed by multiple reaction monitoring in a triple quadrupole mass
spectrometer. Multivariate statistical treatment of the results allowed
the assessment of distinctive features among the studied herbs and
spices.
Keywords
- Culinary herbs;
- Spices;
- Polyphenols;
- Rosemary;
- Thyme;
- Oregano;
- Cinnamon;
- Bay;
- Cumin;
- LC–ESI-LTQ-Orbitrap
- Corresponding
author at: Nutrition and Food Science Department, XaRTA, INSA, Pharmacy
School, University of Barcelona, Spain. Tel.:
+34 934034843; fax: +34 934035931.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
