LC-MS/MS fingerprint and simultaneous quantification of bioactive compounds in safflower petals (Carthamus tinctorius L.)

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) belongs to the Compositae family and it is known as "false saffron". The flowers and seeds of this plant have a wide range of uses in different sectors including food, medicine, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, etc. The aim of this work was to investigate the phenolic compounds, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity and colour properties of fresh petals from three important Turkish safflower cultivars (cvs. Balci, Dincer, Gokturk). The phenolic compounds of the safflower petal extracts were analyzed by using liquid chromatography-diode array detection-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-DAD-ESI-MS/ MS). A total of 34 phenolics were identified in all safflower extract samples, 32 of which were quinochalcone C-glycosides and the remaining two were alkaloids. The main compounds were the hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) and anhydrosafflor yellow B (AHSYB) in all samples. The results showed that the cv. Gokturk had higher phenolic content (126.6 mg/g) than cvs. Dincer (76.6 mg/g) and Balci (65.8 mg/g). N-Feruloylserotonin (moschamine) and N-coumaroylserotonin were identified for the first time in safflower petals in this research. Similar to the phenolic content results, the total phenolics and antioxidant activity of cv. Gokturk was found to be the highest among the cultivars. As a result, significant variations were found among the three safflower cultivars in terms of the phenolic profiles, antioxidant activities and colour properties of petals.