HPLC-MS(n) Applications in the Analysis of Anthocyanins in Fruits

Anthocyanins are water-soluble pink/red/blue/purple pigments found abundantly in the flesh and skin of fruits, flowers, and roots of different varieties of plants. Compared to vegetative tissues in many plants, fruits have much higher contents of anthocyanins. In general, anthocyanins have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, and antiapoptotic activities that benefit human health. To date, anthocyanins in many different fruits have gained intensive studies in structures, biosynthesis, genetics, and genomics. Despite this, difficulties exist in identifying anthocyanins with similar structures and precisely estimating contents within fruit matrices. To improve this challenge, high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) based metabolomics has been shown a powerful technology to distinguish structure-similar anthocyanins. This chapter reviews, summarizes, and discusses the application of HPLC-MS/MS in the annotation or identification of anthocyanins in fruits.