Phenolic profiling of the aerial part of Chrysanthemum trifurcatum using ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled to Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry

Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with single-stage Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Orbitrap-MS) was used for the identification of the main phytochemicals of Chrysanthemum trifurcatum methanolic extracts of stems, leaves and flowers. The analytical procedure was performed using an in-house database containing more than 60 compounds. The most important phytochemicals were detected and identified as flavonoids. Chemical analysis revealed five flavonoid subclasses and two predominant subclasses of flavonols and flavones. The major components showed a high sensitivity in the negative electrospray ionization mode. Isorhamnetin was the common compound identified in stems, leaves and flowers of Ch. trifurcatum. In contrast, luteolin, luteolin-C-6glucoside, luteolin-4'-O-glucoside, apigenin-6-C-glucoside, apigenin-8-C-glucoside, tamarixetin, quercetin, quercetin-3-O-rutinoside, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside and caffeic acid were only detected in leaves and flowers. This finding suggests that UHPLC-Orbitrap-MS represents a simplified procedure for identification of Ch. trifurcatum phytochemicals and Ch. trifurcatum may be considered as an interesting source of natural antioxidants.