Analysis of flavonoids from Cyclanthera pedata fruits by liquid chromatography/electrospray mass spectrometry.

A liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) based method was developed for the characterization of fruits of Cyclanthera pedata Scrabs (Caigua), a Peruvian food and medicinal plant. This method is based on the separation of flavonoid glycosides present in the methanolic extracts from C. pedata fruits using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) followed by detection with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI/MS). Chromatographic separation of the analytes of interest was achieved on a Symmetry C-18 column with detection in positive ion mode. Calibration graphs were obtained by determining the area ratio between external standard of each major compound and the internal standard naringine. Due to the sensitivity and the repeatability of the assay, this method is suitable for industrial quality control of raw materials and final products.