Determination of phenolic and other polar compounds in flaxseed oil using liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A new method based on high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionisation time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (HPLC–ESI–TOF (MS)) has been used to analyse phenolic compounds in flaxseed oil. Some phenolic compounds such as secoisolariciresnol, ferulic acid and its methyl ester, coumaric acid methyl ester, diphyllin, pinoresinol, matairesinol, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillin and vanillic acid have been detected from flaxseed oil. The quantification of these compounds in three varieties of flaxseed oils was carried out using their commercial standards. The efficiency, rapidity and high resolution of HPLC coupled to the sensitivity, selectivity, mass accuracy and true isotopic pattern from TOF (MS) have revealed an enormous separation potential allowing the determination of a broad series of phenolic and other polar compounds present in flaxseed oil for the first time.