Determination of free amino acids and nucleosides and nucleobases in Annona squamosa L. fruitages from different regions in China by LC-QTRAP-MS/MS

Abstract

The quantitative analysis of amino acids, nucleosides and nucleobases is important for the quality evaluation of the popular fruit Annona squamosa L. obtained from different regions in China. To establish a repeatable and accurate LC-QTRAP-MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of 23 target components in fruitages obtained from 5 different regions, chromatographic separation was carried out on an amide column with gradient elution using water and acetonitrile. The method is rapid and completed in less than 6 min and has acceptable linearity in the range of the tested concentration. The average recoveries of the 23 components were 95.30–104.53% with the relative standard deviations of 1.01–3.90%. The results show that the qualities of AAs and NNs in the A. squamosa fruit obtained from the Guangxi province are optimal. The contents of these targets in the Annona squamosa fruitages obtained from 5 regions are significantly different, which might be due to their environment and species.