Phenolic acids

Phenolic acids, also known as phenolcarboxylic acids, are types of aromatic acid compound.

They are also a subclass of a larger category of metabolites commonly referred to as

“phenolics”. The term phenolics consists of approximately 8000 naturally occurring

compounds, all of which have one common structural feature, a phenol (an aromatic ring

bearing at least one hydroxyl substituent). The broad category of phenolics can be divided

into polyphenols and simple phenols, based merely on the number of phenol subunits

present. Polyphenols containing at least two phenol substituent groups encompass the

flavonoids, and such compounds containing three or more phenol substituent groups are

known as the tannins (hydrolyzable and non-hydrolyz-able). Two important naturally

occurring types of phenolic acids are hydroxycinnamic acids and hydroxybenzoic acids, which

are derived from non-phenolic molecules of benzoic and cinnamic acid, espectively.

Phenolic acids can be found in a number of plant species. Their content in dried fruits can be

very high. Natural phenols in horse grams are typically phenolic acids, that is 3,4-dihydroxy

benzoic, caffeic, vanillic, p-coumaric, sinapinic and syringic acids. Multiple phenolic acids

can be found in human urine. Phenolic acids can also be found in mushroom. It is a part of

the humic substances, which are the main organic constituents of soil humus.

The name “phenolic acids” typically describes phenols that possess one carboxylic acid

functional group. Nevertheless, when describing plant metabolites, it refers to a different

group of organic acids. These naturally occurring phenolic acids possess two distinguishing

constitutive carbon frameworks: the hydroxycinnamic and hydroxybenzoic structures.

Although the main skeleton remains the same, the positions and numbers of the hydroxyl

groups on the aromatic ring produce the variety. In a lot of cases, aldehyde analogues are

grouped in with, and known as, phenolic acids. P-coumaric, caffeic, ferulic, vanillic, and

protocatechuic are acids present in nearly all plant species.

Currently, a reliable and reproducible method using highly sensitive LC-MS/MS platform for

the rapid identification and quantification of diverse phenolic acids in different sample types

has been developed by the experienced biological scientists at Creative Proteomics, which

can meet the needs of academic and industrial study in your lab.
Learn more about at https://www.creative-proteomics.com/services/phenolic-acids-analysis-
service.htm