Metabolic profiling of flavonoids in Lotus japonicus using HPLC coupled to an electrospray ion-trap mass spectrometer

Abstract

Flavonoids derived from organs of Lotus japonicus accessions Gifu and Miyakojima were identified using reversed-phase HPLC with on-line photodiode array detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry method (HPLC/PDA/ESI/MS). Several flavonoid glycosides including four types of flavonol and two types of anthocyanin were detected in leaves, stems and flowers, while isoflavonoid derivatives from daidzein, formononetin and coumestrol were detected exclusively in roots. The two accessions exhibited different accumulation pattern and the contents of flavonoids in organs. We will also present the metabolite data obtained by GC/TOF/MS (gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry) and CE/MS (capillary electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry).