Polyphenolic profile of butterhead lettuce cultivar by ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography coupled online to UV-visible spectrophotometry and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

In the present study, the butterhead lettuce cultivar was analyzed by ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled online to diode array detection (DAD), electrospray ionization (ESI) and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (QToF/MS) in the positive and negative ion mode in order to characterize its polyphenolic profile for the first time. The instrument acquisition mode MSE was used to collect automatic and simultaneous information of exact mass at high and low collision energies of precursor ions as well as other ions produced as a result of their fragmentation. One hundred eleven phenolic compounds were identified in the acidified hydromethanolic extract of freeze-dried leaves of butterhead lettuce cultivar: 40 hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, 21 hydroxybenzoic acid derivatives, 2 hydroxyphenylacetic acid derivatives, 18 flavonols, 9 flavones, one flavanone, 7 coumarins, one hydrolysable tannin and 12 lignans. Forty-seven of these compounds have been tentatively identified for the first time in lettuce.

Characterization of phenolic compounds in green and red oak-leaf lettuce cultivars by UHPLC-DAD-ESI-QToF/MS using MSE scan mode.

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is one of the most popular leafy vegetables in the world and constitutes a major dietary source of phenolic compounds with health-promoting properties. In particular, the demand for green and red oak-leaf lettuces has considerably increased in the last years but few data on their polyphenol composition are available. Moreover, the usage of analytical edge technology can provide new structural information and allow the identification of unknown polyphenols. In the present study, the phenolic profiles of green and red oak-leaf lettuce cultivars were exhaustively characterized by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled online to diode array detection (DAD), electrospray ionization (ESI), and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (QToF/MS), using the MSE instrument acquisition mode for recording simultaneously exact masses of precursor and fragment ions. One hundred fifteen phenolic compounds were identified in the acidified hydromethanolic extract of freeze-dried lettuce leaves. Forty-eight of these compounds were tentatively identified for the first time in lettuce, and only 20 of them have been previously reported in oak-leaf lettuce cultivars in literature. Both oak-leaf lettuce cultivars presented similar phenolic composition, except for apigenin-glucuronide and dihydroxybenzoic acid, only detected in the green cultivar; and for luteolin-hydroxymalonylhexoside, an apigenin conjugate with molecular formula C40 H54 O19 (monoisotopic MW = 838.3259 u), cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, cyanidin-3-O-(3″-O-malonyl)glucoside, cyanidin-3-O-(6″-O-malonyl)glucoside, and cyanidin-3-O-(6″-O-acetyl)glucoside, only found in the red cultivar. The UHPLC-DAD-ESI-QToF/MSE approach demonstrated to be a useful tool for the characterization of phenolic compounds in complex plant matrices.

Freshly characterization and storability of mini head lettuces at optimal and abusive temperatures.

Selection of lettuce varieties less sensitive to quality deterioration and more tolerant to abusive temperatures during handling, transportation, and storage is essential to minimize economical and quality losses that affect both producers and consumers. This work was focused on the quality changes of four baby head lettuces (Lactuca sativa L.), two butter (red and green) and two oak-leaf (red and green) types, during storage at 0 ℃ and 10 ℃ for 10 days. Lettuce quality was determined by measuring bioactive content (ascorbic acid, total phenolics), physicochemical (total chlorophyll, browning potential), and microbiological indices. At harvest, red varieties presented lower browning potential and higher bioactive compounds but no differences were observed in microbial populations. During storage, ascorbic acid underwent first order degradation for all varieties, with a degradation rate at 10 ℃ twice faster than at 0 ℃. At 0 ℃, only the red oak-leaf lettuce exhibited chlorophyll degradation, while at 10 ℃ all varieties presented degradation. No changes were observed in total phenolics and browning potential of butter lettuces during storage at both temperatures. Microbial population counts were significant affected by the storage temperature. Red butter baby lettuce presented slightly better bioactive content and microbiological characteristics and then better storability.