Chemical characterization of polyphenols from Daucus muricatus growing in Algeria by RP-UHPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS.

In the present work, reversed phase (RP) ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled to quadrupole-time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometry in tandem has been used for the identification of the main phenolic compounds in the aerial parts of Daucus muricatus. The characterisation of the compounds was carried out taking into account retention time, mass accurate measurements, the generated molecular formulae and fragmentation pattern. These data were contrasted with literature and databases, as well as with those of authentic standards when possible. The proposed method provided tentative identification of 30 phenolic and other polar compounds, including hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, flavonoids and hydroxybenzoic acid derivatives. As a note, hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives were found to be the most diverse phenolic class of Daucus muricatus.