Use of UFLC-PDA for the Analysis of Organic Acids in Thirty-Five Species of Food and Medicinal Plants
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Use of UFLC-PDA for the Analysis of Organic Acids in Thirty-Five Species of Food and Medicinal Plants Carla Pereira & Lillian Barros & Ana Maria Carvalho & Isabel C. F. R. Ferreira
Received: 2 October 2012 / Accepted: 29 November 2012 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2012
Abstract Analysis of organic acids has become increasingly important due to their role in the physiological activity of plants, and many separation methods have been developed for the simultaneous determination of these compounds in plant samples. Herein, ultra fast liquid chromatography and photodiode array detection (UFLC-PDA) was applied to the analysis of organic acids in young shoots, leaves, aerial parts and flowering shoots, as well as in flowers and fruits, of 35 plant species, according to their traditional use. The studied plants were divided in three groups: traditionally cultivated food plants, wild edible plants and wild medicinal plants. Most of the species were characterized for the first time. Among all the analysed species, Rumex acetosella leaves and aerial parts revealed the highest content of total organic acids. Overall, the organic acids found in the studied plant species make them suitable to be used as food additives such as antioxidants (e.g. ascorbic acid) or acidulants (e.g. citric and malic acids). Keywords UFLC-PDA . Organic acids . Edible plants . Medicinal plants
Introduction Plants possess a unique richness and diversity of metabolites including organic acids. These compounds serve a variety of roles in both primary and secondary plant metabolism (Bennet-Clark 1993). Organic acids are involved in various Both authors contributed equally in this work. C. Pereira : L. Barros : A. M. Carvalho : I. C. F. R. Ferreira (*) CIMO-Escola Superior Agrária, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 1172, 5301-855 Bragança, Portugal e-mail: [email protected]
fundamental pathways in plant metabolism and catabolism as intermediate or end products. Citric, malic, succinic, fumaric and oxalic acids play a key role in the Krebs cycle which is the central energy-yielding cycle of the cell, being involved in the most important metabolic pathway of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins (Bennet-Clark 1993). Malic acid is involved in respiration and photosynthesis. This organic acid as also citric and oxalic acids have been proposed to be involved in cation transport and in processes operating in the rhizosphere, including nutrient acquisition, metal detoxification, alleviation of anaerobic stress in roots, mineral weathering and microbial attraction (Mucha et al. 2005). Organic acids are also known for their influence in the organoleptic properties of plant foods (Vaughan and Geissler 1997) and for their utility in the authenticity and quality of these matrices, including microbial stability and product consistence (Gebre et al. 1994). They are also used extensively as food additives in the manufacture of beverages, fruit and vegetable drinks and juices. The main acids used to enhance beverages are citric, ma
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