High throughput qualitative analysis of polyphenols in tea samples by ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography coupled to UV and mass spectrometry detectors

The analysis of polyphenols in tea extracts is important due to their potential health benefits. Therefore, efficient and high throughput analytical methods have been developed for the separation of seven predominant polyphenols, also known as catechin derivatives, present in tea extracts. Columns packed with sub-2-μm particles operating at elevated pressure (UHPLC strategy) were selected to improve chromatographic performance. The potential of UHPLC–UV was demonstrated with baseline resolution of all standard catechins in only 30 s using a 50-mm column packed with 1.7-μm particles. When dealing with real samples such as tea extracts, however, longer columns of up to 150 mm in length were employed to enhance the separation of catechin derivatives and other constituents within the tea samples while maintaining an acceptable analysis time. Two strategies based on 2-D experiments were proposed to clearly identify catechins. Firstly, a liquid–liquid extraction procedure was added prior to the UHPLC–UV analysis to decrease the complexity of the sample. Secondly, UHPLC was coupled to ESI-MS/MS to attain sufficient sensitivity and selectivity between catechin derivatives and other constituents of tea extract. These two strategies were found extremely promising as a clear discrimination of catechins from the matrix could be attained.