Polyphenolic compounds, as a secondary metabolite of plants, possess great nutritional and pharmacological potential. Herein, we applied the green analytical method to study the nutrient profile of Rosa rugosa petals and liqueurs manufactured from them. Using the fast and validated ultra performance liquid chromatography-photodiode detector-quadrupole/time of flight-mass spectrometry (UPLC-PDA-Q/TOF-MS) method, we confirm the presence of the following compounds: phenolic acids, flavonols, flavan-3-ols and hydrolisable tannins (gallotannins and ellagitannins). R. rugosa petals contains up to 2175.43 mg polyphenols per 100 g fresh weight, therein 1517.01 mg ellagitannins per 100 g fresh weight. Liqueurs, traditionally manufactured from said petals using a conventional extraction method (maceration), also contain polyphenols in significant amounts (from 72% to 96% corresponding to percentage of theoretical polyphenol content in the used petals), therein ellagitannins amount to 69.7% on average. We confirmed that traditional maceration, most common for the isolation of polyphenols, is still suitable for the food industry due to its using aqueous ethanol, a common bio-solvent, easily available in high purity and completely biodegradable. Therefore R. rugosa used as a food may be considered as an ellagitannin-rich plant of economic importance. Manufactured rose liqueurs were stable and kept all their properties during the whole period of aging.
Keywords: Rosa rugosa petals; ellagitannins; liqueurs; mass spectrometry; polyphenolic compounds; ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography.