Betaines in fruits of Citrus genus plants

J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Sep 14;59(17):9410-6. doi: 10.1021/jf2014815. Epub 2011 Aug 12.

Abstract

Numerous compounds, many of them osmolytes, were quantified in natural juices and in frozen concentrate juices from fruits of plants of the Citrus genus. L-proline, N-methyl-L-proline (hygric acid), N,N-dimethyl-L-proline (stachydrine), 4-hydroxy-L-prolinebetaine (betonicine), 4-hydroxy-L-proline, γ-aminobutyric acid (Gaba), 3-carboxypropyltrimethylammonium (GabaBet), N-methylnicotinic acid (trigonelline), and choline in the fruit juices of yellow orange, blood orange, lemon, mandarin, bitter orange (Citrus aurantium), chinotto (Citrus myrtifolia), and grapefruit were analyzed by sensitive HPLC-ESI-tandem mass spectrometry procedure. It was found that the most represented osmolytes in the juices, that is, L-proline, stachydrine, and betonicine, can be quantified with minimal sample preparation and short analysis time (about 1 min) also by flow injection analysis (FIA) ESI-MS/MS with the same results as obtained by HPLC ESI-MS/MS. In all of the juices, discrete amounts of choline and trigonelline were present. Conversely, GabaBet was always below detection limits. Notably, N-methyl-L-proline and 4-hydroxy-L-prolinebetaine, which were discovered for the first time in the juice of bergamot (Citrus bergamia Risso et Poit), are also present in all of the citrus juices examined.

MeSH terms

  • Betaine / analogs & derivatives
  • Betaine / analysis*
  • Beverages / analysis
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
  • Citrus*
  • Fruit / chemistry*
  • Proline / analogs & derivatives
  • Proline / analysis
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Substances

  • Betaine
  • Proline
  • stachydrine