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CE, HPLC, and TLC analyses of phenolic compounds from rapeseed plants and
evaluation of their anti‐oxidant activity
Article in Journal of Separation Science · November 2018

DOI: 10.1002/jssc.201800712
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www.jss-journal.com Page 1 Journal of Separation Science
CE, HPLC, and TLC analyses of phenolic compounds from

rapeseed plants and evaluation of their anti-oxidant activity
Yang Huang1,2, Olivia Jansen3, Michel Frédérich3, Ange Mouithys-Mickalad4, Gwenaël Nys2,
Anne-Catherine Servais2, Jacques Crommen1,2, Zhengjin Jiang1, Marianne Fillet1,2*
1
Institute of Pharmaceutical Analysis, College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou,
510632, China
2
Laboratory for the Analysis of Medicines, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on
Medicines (CIRM), University of Liège, Avenue Hippocrate 15, 4000 Liège, Belgium
3
Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Medicines
(CIRM), University of Liège, Avenue Hippocrate 15, 4000 Liège, Belgium
4
Center for Oxygen, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Medicines (CIRM), University
of Liège, Avenue Hippocrate 15, 4000 Liège, Belgium
*Corresponding author: Professor Marianne Fillet, Laboratory for the Analysis of Medicines,
Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Medicines (CIRM), University of Liège, Avenue
Hippocrate 15, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
E-mail address: marianne.fillet@ulg.ac.be (M. Fillet).
Tel: +32 4 3664345; Fax: +32 4 3664347.
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
1
Non-standard abbreviations: ABTS, 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzohiazoline-6-sulphonic acid;
CM-β-CD, Carboxymethyl-β-CD; DS, Degree of substitution; DPPH,
2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl; DAD, diode array detector; EPR, Electron paramagnetic
resonance; FA, formic acid; MeOH, methanol; TFA, trifluoroacetate.
Keywords: Anti-oxidant activity; Capillary electrophoresis; High Performance Liquid
Chromatography; Phenolic compounds; Thin Layer Chromatography;
Abstract
Rapeseed plants, known for oil production, are also known to contain phenolic compounds
such as phenolic acids and flavonoids, with potential antioxidant and anticancer activities.
The separation and identification of 11 phenolic acids in rapeseed extracts (including leaves,
flowers, Chinese seeds, Belgian seeds and cake) by capillary electrophoresis were
investigated. The results were compared with those obtained with high performance liquid
chromatography and thin layer chromatography and showed that the capillary
electrophoresis technique offers several advantages for the identification of phenolic
compounds in various rapeseed extracts. The antioxidant activity of rapeseed extracts and
reference compounds was evaluated using four different approaches, namely 2,2'-azinobis-
(3-ethylbenzohiazoline-6-sulphonic acid assay, free radical 2,2-diphenyl -1-picrylhydrazyl
assay, Electron paramagnetic resonance and the measurement of the total polyphenol
2
content. The contents of total polyphenols in the tested extracts were ranging between 5.4
% (m/m) and 21.1 % (m/m) and ranked as follows: Chinese seeds ˃ Belgian seeds ˃ Flowers
˃ Cake ˃ Leaves.
1. Introduction
Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.), one of the most economical oil crops, is widely cultivated all
around the world. In the last decades, increasing interest has been paid to this edible plant
due to its nutritional properties, but also because of its high content in secondary
metabolites (phenolic compounds) with antioxidant activity including polyphenols, tannins,
hydroxycinnamic acids and flavonoids, etc. [1]. Their antioxidant activity is generally
estimated using 2,2-azinobis (3-ethyl-benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assay,
2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay [2-3] and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR)
[4]. This plant has also been described to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and
cancer [5]. Phenolic compounds in rapeseed can be fractionated into different groups,
including free phenolic acids [5]. The main free phenolic acid is sinapic acid [6]. Some other
phenolic acids, such as gallic, syringic, chlorogenic, ferulic, vanillic, caffeic, ellagic, cinnamic,
p-coumaric and p-hydroxybenzoic acids, were also reported [5, 7-10]. Liquid
chromatography was widely used to analyze these phenolic acids in rapeseed plant [5-6,
11]. However, multiple phenolic acids exhibit similar retention and require long analysis
3
times, which makes their identification in rapeseed extracts challenging. More recently, CE
has become increasingly applied to the separation of natural compounds. The advantages of
CE are the short analysis time, the low reagent consumption and the moderate cost [12-14].
Additionally, owing to its higher resolving power, CE is suitable for the analysis of complex
natural matrices. For example, Peng et al [15] developed a CE method with electrochemical
detection for the analysis of phenolic compounds in Perilla frutescens L. Under the optimal
conditions, catechin, ferulic acid, apigenin, luteolin, rosmarinic acid, and caffeic acid could
be baseline separated within 20 min using a 100 mM borate buffer (pH 8.7). Başkan et al
[16] used CE-UV for the identification and quantitative determination of carnosic and
rosmarinic acids in extracts of Salvia officinalis L. in 10 min, with a 40 mM borate buffer (pH
9.6) as BGE. Petr et al [17] developed a CE method for the analysis of phenolic acids (sinapic,
ferulic, coumaric, caffeic, syringic, vanillic and 4-hydroxybenzoic acids) in extracts from
Majorana hortensis Moench leaves with a BGE made of 50 mM borate buffer (pH 9.5). All
the analytes were well separated within 20 min. However, to the best of our knowledge,
only one work was devoted to the CE analysis of phenolic acids in rapeseed plant [18].
Kolodziejczyk et al [18] developed a CE method for the analysis of sinapine and sinapic acid
from rapeseed plant using a BGE composed of 150 mM borate buffer, 15 mM
dimethyl-β-cyclodextrin, and 75 mM SDS (pH 8.5). The compounds of interest were baseline
separated in 20 min.
4
The aim of this study is to critically compare different analytical methods for the separation
and identification of phenolic acids in rapeseed plants. Eleven compounds were firstly
selected for their antioxidant activity and analyzed by CE, HPLC and TLC in different
rapeseed extracts (leaf, flower, seeds and cake). The antioxidant activity of these extracts
was evaluated by means of DPPH•+, ABTS•+ and EPR methods and compared with that of
reference compounds. Then a correlation with the total polyphenol content was
investigated. Finally, some additional compounds from cake extract were isolated by TLC
and identified by Q-TOF-MS and tested for their antioxidant properties.
2. Materials and methods
2.1 Chemicals and reagents
Ellagic acid, sinapic acid, caproic acid and sodium tetraborate were obtained from
Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA). P-hydroxybenzoic, vanillic, gallic, syringic, p-coumaric,
chlorogenic, caffeic, ferulic, and gallic acids were kindly provided by Prof. Michel Frédérich.
Chemical structures and properties of 11 phenolic acids are shown in Table. S1. All
standards were prepared as stock solutions at 1 mg/mL in methanol (MeOH), except ellagic
acid (0.4 mg/mL in MeOH). Solutions of the standards were stored in darkness at -20 °C. The
leaves and flowers were collected in Belgium (April 2016). Belgian seeds and cake
5
(cold-pressed rapeseed) were gifted by Prof. M. Frédérich. Chinese seeds were purchased
on domestic market (Henan, China).
Formic acid (FA) and trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) of LC-MS grade were obtained from Biosolve
(Valkenswaard, the Netherlands). Triethanolamine, ammonia solution (25%, v/v),
ortho-phosphoric acid (85%, v/v), MeOH, DMSO, ethyl acetate and ACN were purchased
from Merck (Darmstadt, Germany). 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and
2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzohiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) were from Fluka (Bornem,
Belgium) and were used as sources of free radicals. Pyrogallol and Folin-Ciocalteu reagent
(phosphomolybdotungstic reagent) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. Carboxymethyl
β-CD (CM-β-CD) sodium salt (Degree of substitution : DS～7) was from Cyclolab Ltd
(Budapest, Hungary). Sodium persulfate, NaOH and isopropyl alcohol were obtained from
VWR (Leuven, Belgium). Ultrapure water was supplied by a Milli-Q equipment (Millipore,
Bedford, MA, USA) and Chromafil® syringe filters (0.20 µm) were purchased from
Macherey-Nagel (Düren, Germany).
2.2. Instrumentation and separation conditions
HPLC conditions: The 1200 HPLC chromatographic system from Agilent Technologies
(Waldbronn, Germany) consisted of a quaternary pump, an automatic injector, a
6
thermostated column compartment and a diode array detector (DAD). The Chemstation
B.04.01 was used for system control and data acquisition. The chromatographic separations
were performed on a Lichrospher®100 RP-C18 endcapped (250 mm × 4.6 mm id, 5 μm) from
Merck (Darmstadt, Germany), and operated at 25 °C. The mobile phase consisted of 0.025%
(v/v) TFA in water (solvent A) and ACN (solvent B) with a linear gradient procedure: 0-5 min,
5% B; 5-10 min, 5%-7% B; 10-32 min, 7% B; 32-40 min, 7%-10% B; 40-70 min, 10%-18% B;
70-90 min, 18%-40% B; 90-100 min, 40%-60% B; 100-100.1 min, 60-5% B; 100.1-105.5 min,
5% B. The flow rate was 1.0 mL/min, and the sample injection volume was 10 μL. The
detection wavelength was 254 nm.
CE conditions: The Agilent 7100 CE system (Agilent Technologies, Waldbronn, Germany) was
equipped with an autosampler, DAD and a temperature control system. OpenLAB CDS CE
Chemstation B.03.01 was used for instrument control, data acquisition and analysis.
Electrophoretic separations were carried out in uncoated fused silica capillaries with 50 µm
id (363 µm od) and 58.5 cm total length (50 cm effective length). At the beginning of each
working day, the capillary was washed with 1 M NaOH and water for 10 min each. Before
each injection, the capillary was successively washed with 1 M NaOH for 3 min, water for 3
min and was then equilibrated with the BGE for 5 min. Capillary wash cycles were
performed at a pressure of approximately 1 bar. Injections were made by applying a
7
pressure of 50 mbar for a period of 10 s. Electropherograms were recorded at 254 nm. The
identification of the target analytes in HPLC and CE was performed by comparing the
retention times and DAD spectra with those of the respective standards.
TLC conditions: For comparison of the chromatographic profiles of the five extracts and the
11 reference compounds, the analysis was performed on TLC Silica gel 60 F254 25 plastic
sheets (20 × 20 cm). Ethyl acetate/MeOH/FA/H2O (20/2.5/0.5/1, v/v/v/v) was chosen as
solvent system for the separation. The developing chambers were pre-equilibrated for 20
min with mobile phase. After development over a path of 19 cm, the plates were air-dried
and heated at 105 °C for 5 min, then sprayed with the reagent (50 g/L solution of macrogol
400 R and 10 g/L solution of diphenylboric acid aminoethyl ester in MeOH). The plates were
examined immediately under the wavelengths of 254 nm and 366 nm before and after
spraying the reagent, respectively. The identification of sample components was carried out
by comparison of the Rf values and colors of the spots relative to those of the standards.
TLC fingerprints (Techne AG, Burkhardtsdorf, Germany) were documented with a ProViDoc
5.7 (Desaga, Wiesloch, Germany) equipped with a Hitachi HV-C20AP camera.
Semi-preparative TLC: Under the wavelength of 254 nm, scratch bands were collected and
extracted with 1 mL MeOH in ultrasonic bath for half an hour, then vortexed (30 s) and
centrifuged (3200 g) for 10 min). The supernatants were transferred and evaporated with a
8
rotary evaporator at 30 °C under vacuum. The extracts were dissolved in MeOH and diluted
to appropriate concentration, then filtered through a 0.45 µm filter membrane.
Q-TOF-MS conditions: The samples were analyzed using a 6560 ion mobility Q-TOF-MS.
They were first separated on a 1290 UHPLC Infinity II in gradient elution mode with water +
0.1 % (v/v) FA as solvent A and ACN + 0.1 % (v/v) FA as solvent B. Gradient: 10-95% B in 10
min. The column was an Agilent Zorbax Extend C18 2.1 × 50 mm, 1.8 µm particle size. The
samples were first analyzed by injecting 1 µL in MS mode (scan mode, negative ESI polarity).
Then, the precursors ions were identified using the Molecular Feature Extraction algorithm.
The features were subsequently analyzed in MS/MS mode, with a collision energy of 10, 20
and 40 V. Finally, the features were identified by searching the spectra and accurate masses
from ChemSpider database. They were sorted by score (based on the accurate mass of the
precursor ion and the quality of matching of the product ions).
Additional instrumentation: the MP225 pH meter was from Mettler Toledo (Giesen,
Germany). The Mikro 220 R Centrifuge was from Hettich (Tuttlingen, Germany). TLC silica
gel 60 F254 sheets were purchased from Merck (Darmstadt, Germany). The oven was
supplied by Memmert (Schwobach, Germany). RK100 ultrasonic bath was from Bandelin
(Berlin, Germany). The UV-2101PC spectrophotometer was from Shimadzu (Kyoto, Japan).
MS data was obtained using a commercially available Agilent 6560 ion mobility Q-TOF-MS
9
(Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA). EPR analysis was performed using a Bruker
spectrometer (Bruker, Karlsruhe, Germany).
2.3. Sample preparation
Cake, Chinese seeds, Belgian seeds, flowers, leaves (8 g for each) were extracted with 160
mL MeOH in an ultrasonicator for one hour. The supernatants were collected after
centrifugation at 1700 g for 10 min and concentrated using a vacuum rotary evaporator at
30 °C. The slurries were weighed and dissolved in MeOH.
Standard solutions of ferulic, sinapic, chlorogenic, gallic, cinnamic, 4-hydroxybenzoic,
syringic, p-coumaric, vanillic, caffeic and ellagic acids were all prepared in MeOH and the
concentration was 1 mg/mL for each except ellagic acid (0.3 mg/mL). All standard solutions
were kept at -20 °C. The stock solution containing the 11 compounds was prepared in MeOH
at a concentration of 50 µg/mL for each analyte except ellagic acid (200 µg/mL). Before use,
all solutions were filtered through a 0.22 µm membrane and analyzed by CE, HPLC and TLC.
The extracts tested for antioxidant activity, including those of leaves, flowers, Chinese
seeds, Belgian seeds and cake, were diluted with DMSO at concentrations of 15.6, 31.2,
62.5, 125, 250 and 500 µg/mL. The solutions of reference compounds (gallic acid and sinapic
10
acid) were also diluted with DMSO at concentrations of 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8 µg/mL. All
operations were performed in the dark to avoid photodegradation.
2.4. Antioxidant activity assays
2.4.1 Total polyphenol content
The determination of total phenolic compounds was performed on MeOH extracts following
the method reported by European Pharmacopoeia 9.0 (2.8.14. section: Tannins in herbal
drugs) [19]. Briefly, the dry extract (0.1 g) was extracted with water under a reflux
condenser in a boiling water bath for 30 min. The aqueous solution was cooled under
running water and transferred quantitatively to a 50 mL volumetric flask. The
round-bottomed flask was rinsed and the washings were collected in the volumetric flask,
then the solution was diluted to 50 mL with water and filtered through a 0.45 µm
membrane. 5.0 mL of the filtrate were diluted to 25.0 mL with water. 2.0 mL of this solution
were mixed with 1.0 mL of phosphomolybdotungstic reagent and 10.0 mL of water and
diluted to 25.0 mL with a 290 g/L solution of sodium carbonate. The absorbance of the test
solution was measured at 760 nm (A1) after 30 min incubation in the dark at room
temperature. Water was used as control. Pyrogallol (50.0 mg) was dissolved in a 100.0 mL
volumetric flask with the same solvent and diluted 20 times with water. 2.0 mL of this
11
solution were mixed with 1.0 mL of phosphomolybdotungstic reagent and 10.0 mL of water
and dilute to 25.0 mL with a 290 g/L solution of sodium carbonate. The absorbance of this
solution was measured at 760 nm (A2) after 30 min incubation in the dark at room
temperature. The percentage content of total polyphenol expressed as pyrogallol (CTP) was
calculated from the expression:
CTP (%)=(62.5*A1*m2)/A2*m1×100 (1)
m1: mass of the sample to be examined; m2: mass of pyrogallol. All measurements were
done in triplicate.
2.4.2 DPPH radical scavenging activity assay
The free radical scavenging activity of the extracts was measured in vitro by DPPH assay
according to the method described earlier [20]. The stock reagent solution was prepared by
dissolving 9.8 mg DPPH with 40 mL MeOH. The working solution was obtained by diluting
the DPPH solution with MeOH to reach an absorbance of 0.770 ± 0.002 at 517 nm using the
UV spectrophotometer equipped with diode array detector (Merck Hitachi). A 0.2 mL
aliquot of this solution was mixed with 1780 μL MeOH and 20 μL of the extracts at various
concentrations (31.2~500 μg/mL) or 20 µL of solutions of reference compounds in the
12
concentration range (0.5~8 μg/mL). The reaction mixture was vortexed for 30 s and
measured at 517 nm. The control (MeOH and DMSO) was prepared as mentioned above
without any extract or reference compound. All measurements were done in triplicate. The
DPPH radical scavenging activity (ASE) was estimated from the following equation:
ASE (%) = [(Ac−As)/Ac]×100 (2)
Ac : control absorbance; As : sample absorbance
2.4.3 ABTS anti-radical activity assay
The ABTS free radical-scavenging activity of each extract or compound was determined
according to the method described by R. Re et al. [21]. The radical cation ABTS•+ was
generated by persulfate oxidation of ABTS. A mixture of ABTS (10.98 mg/mL) and sodium
persulfate (3.03 mg/mL) was prepared and kept overnight at room temperature in the dark
to form a radical cation ABTS•+ [22]. Then, the radical solution was diluted in MeOH to
obtain an absorbance of 0.870 ± 0.004 at 734 nm using a UV-visible spectrophotometer
(Merck Hitachi equipped with diode array detector). The incubation mixtures contained 1.98
mL ABTS•+ and 20 µL of extracts or solutions of reference compounds in the final
13
concentration ranges of 15.6~250 µg/mL and 0.25~4 µg/mL, respectively. The resulting
solutions were vortexed for 30 s and kept on the dark for 30 min before further analysis.
The radical scavenging activity was evaluated by measuring the absorbance decrease of the
radical cation ABTS•+ at 734 nm compared to the control (MeOH and DMSO solution). All
experiments were performed in triplicate. The percentage of inhibition of ABTS •+ was
calculated using equation (2).
2.4.4 Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR)
EPR technique is specific to evidence the presence of free radical within the sample and
therefore might avoid any interferences due to the own absorbance of studied extracts. We
have used this technique to investigate the intrinsic effect the extracts or the reference
compounds on ABTS•+.
EPR analysis was carried out at room temperature with a Bruker spectrometer (EMX-micro,
Karlsruhe, Germany), operating at X-band frequency (9.78 GHz) and a microwave power of
18.79 mW. The instrumental settings were: 100 KHz modulation frequency, 1.012 G
modulation amplitude, 3480 G magnetic field center; receiver gain was 2 × 10 4. The sweep
width was ± 50 G and the number scan was 4. All the samples were compared to the
14
control. This study was performed according to the method described by U. Pérez-López et
al. [23].
An aliquot of 10 μL of each extract (156, 312, 625 μg/mL) or reference compound solution
(0.5, 1 and 2 μg/mL), was added to 90 μL ABTS•+ solution. All measurements were started
immediately after mixing with the radical solution. 10 μL DMSO were mixed with 90 μL
ABTS•+ to be used as control.
The intensity of the EPR signal decreases with increasing concentrations of extracts or
reference compounds, which results in an increase of the percentage of radical inhibition (T
[%]). The percentage of radical inhibition was calculated using the following equation [24]:
T (%) = [(I0-I)/I0] ×100 (3)
where I0 is the intensity of the EPR spectrum of or ABTS•+ (a control sample), and I is the
intensity of the EPR spectrum obtained with the mixture of ABTS•+ in the presence of the
extract or the reference compound.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Identification of phenolic acids in the extracts
3.1.1 Optimization of CE separation
15
The buffer composition, pH, temperature, and voltage were optimized in order to obtain the
separation of all reference compounds. It has been previously reported that sodium
tetraborate is an appropriate buffer for the separation of phenolic acids [15, 17]. Small
change of the pH (close to phenol pKa) and concentration of sodium tetraborate could
obviously influence the separation of the selected analytes. The effect of pH was studied by
adjusting the buffer pH in the 9.30-9.40 range by adding proper amounts of 1 M ammonia
solution (Fig. S1-A). As can be seen on this Figure, pH 9.35 led to the most promising results.
The buffer concentration was investigated in the 60-80 mM range. 70 mM sodium
tetraborate was chosen as it gave rise to the best compromise between resolution and
analysis time (Fig. S1-B).
Two other aqueous BGEs were tested: 70 mM caproic acid (adjusted to pH 9.35 with 1 M
ammonia) and 200 mM phosphoric acid (adjusted to pH 3.0 with triethanolamine)
containing 10 mM CM--CD (Fig. S2). Caproic acid was tested as anionic BGE component
because it has a mobility much closer to those of the analytes. Although peak symmetry was
improved, changes in migration order and a decrease in resolution for several peak pairs
were observed. With the aim of increasing the stability of the analytes, an acidic BGE was
also investigated in the reverse polarity mode, the mobility and migration order of the
phenolic acids being mainly influenced by the complexation with the cyclodextrin derivative
16
added to the BGE. Of the different BGEs examined, sodium tetraborate led to the separation
of the 11 reference compounds in a satisfactory analysis time. The other two BGEs were
found to be inadequate for the complete separation of all reference compounds. Moreover,
ellagic acid could not be detected using these two BGEs.
The influence of the applied voltage (20-30 kV) and temperature (15-25 °C) on the
resolution of the 11 compounds was then investigated using the selected BGE (Fig. S3).
Finally, 25 kV and 20 °C were chosen as a good compromise with respect to resolution and
analysis time. Under the selected conditions, the RSDs (n=3) of migration time and peak
were satisfactory (both below 3.0 %).
3.1.2 Identification of phenolic acids in plant extracts by CE
Under the selected conditions, several peaks present in the electrophoretic profiles of the
five extracts could be tentatively identified by comparing both migration times and DAD
spectra with those of standard phenolic acids. Typical electropherograms of leaf, Chinese
seed, Belgian seed, cake and flowers extracts are shown in Fig. 1. Peaks 3 (sinapic acid), 5
(syringic acid), 8 (vanillic acid), 9 (caffeic acid) and 10 (gallic acid) were found and identified
in Belgian seeds. Peaks 3 (sinapic acid), 5 (syringic acid) and 10 (gallic acid) were detected in
cake sample. Peaks 3 (sinapic acid), 4 (ferulic acid), 5 (syringic acid), 9 (caffeic acid) and 10
17
(gallic acid) were detected in Chinese seeds. Peaks 7 (p-coumaric acid), 8 (vanillic acid) and
10 (gallic acid) were detected in flowers. Peaks 8 (vanillic acid) and 10 (gallic acid) were
detected in leaf extract. DAD spectra of the corresponding peaks (in blue) are compared
with those of standards (in red) in Fig. S4.
3.1.3 TLC identification
TLC analysis was performed to identify the compounds of interest by comparing Rf values
and colors obtained with spraying reagent or without spraying reagent under the
wavelengths of 254 and 366 nm. After several attempts to optimize mobile phases, most
analytes still showed similar retention: gallic acid (Rf=0.84), sinapic acid (Rf=0.86), ferulic
acid (Rf=0.87), cinnamic acid (Rf=0.88), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (Rf=0.88), p-coumaric acid
(Rf=0.88), vanillic acid (Rf=0.88) and caffeic acid (Rf=0.88) (Fig. S5). These results indicate
that the TLC method is not appropriate for separating and identifying these compounds.
3.1.4 HPLC identification
The peaks in HPLC chromatograms were analyzed by comparing the retention times and
DAD spectra of peaks from the extracts with those of reference standards under the same
analytical conditions (Figs. 2 and S6). Unfortunately, only two compounds could be finally
18
identified: compound 3 (sinapic acid) in Belgian seed, Chinese seed and cake extracts and
compound 11 (p-hydroxybenzoic acid) in Chinese seed, leaf and flower extracts. This may be
due to the co-elution of numerous matrix components under these conditions.
3.1.5 Comparison of the three analytical methods
Three different methods were investigated in terms of the separation of 11 reference
compounds. In summary, it can be concluded that more extract components seem to be
identified by CE compared to HPLC, although the reproducibility of migrations times in CE is
still to be improved. The analysis time (35 min) is also much shorter in CE than in HPLC (90
min). Interestingly, the elution order of phenolic acids is almost completely reversed
compared to that observed in CE separation. Additionally, the CE method requires no
organic solvent. The compounds identified by the two techniques are summarized in Table
1. Clearly, CE method can be considered as an interesting alternative to HPLC for rapeseed
plant analysis.
3.2. Antioxidant activity
The DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging assays were employed to evaluate the antioxidant
activity of the compounds present in the extracts. The decrease in absorbance was used to
measure the scavenging effect [25]. Figs. 3 and S7 show the percentages of inhibition of
19
DPPH• and ABTS• radicals obtained with increasing concentrations of extracted samples and
reference compounds, respectively.
All extracts and tested compounds demonstrated significant dose-dependent inhibition
efficiency. The antioxidant activity of the extracted samples was in the following decreasing
order: Chinese seeds ˃ Belgian seeds ˃ Flowers˃ Cake ˃ Leaves. Similarly, the antioxidant
activity of the reference compounds tested was as follows: gallic acid ˃ sinapic acid (Fig. S7).
The higher activity of Chinese seeds can be mainly attributed to a higher phenolic content,
compared to that of the other extracts.
In parallel to DPPH and ABTS assays by UV-visible technique, the reactivity of free radicals
from ABTS• or DPPH• was investigated by EPR spectroscopy after addition of different
concentrations of extract or reference compound solutions. Compared to the control, the
addition of increasing concentrations of extract solutions resulted in a decreased intensity
of the EPR spectrum.
The radical scavenging activity of extracts and that of reference compounds in the presence
of radical cation ABTS•+ are presented in Figs. 4 and S8, respectively. All the extracts showed
significant inhibitory effects vs control depending on the concentration of the extracts. For
the different extracts, at the same concentrations, the inhibitory efficiency was in the
following decreasing order: Chinese seeds ˃ Belgian seeds ˃ Flowers ˃ Cake ˃ Leaves.
20
Similarly, the antioxidant activity of the reference compounds was tested as follows: gallic
acid ˃ sinapic acid.
3.3. Total polyphenol content
Polyphenolic compounds such as tannins, flavonoids and phenolic acids are usually
considered to be major contributors to the total antioxidant activity. To explore the
influence of these phytochemical constituents on antioxidant activity in the five extracted
samples, the content of total polyphenols of each extract was evaluated by the UV-vis
method from the European Pharmacopoeia and the corresponding results are shown in
Table 2. As can be seen from this table, the amounts of total polyphenols, expressed as
pyrogallol, in all five extracted samples were considerable, ranging between 5.4 % (m/m)
and 21.1 % (m/m). The contents of total polyphenols in the tested extracts were ranked as
follows: Chinese seeds ˃ Belgian seeds ˃ Flowers ˃ Cake ˃ Leaves, which is highly correlated
with results from ABTS•+, DPPH•+ assays and EPR (ABTS•+) method.
3.4. Semi-preparative TLC and evaluation of the antioxidant activity of the isolated
compounds
Because the cake provided with a high yield this sample was selected for preparative TLC
experiments. Under optimized separation conditions (see Material and Methods), four
“unknown” compounds could be collected (“unknowns” 1, 2, 3 and 4) and identified by
21
UHPLC-Q-TOF. The structural information, given in Table S2, was found to be relevant
according the literature [26-28]. These four compounds were finally identified as
1,6-disinapoylglucoside (1), sinapoylglycoside (2), disinapoylgentiobiose (3) and
sinapoylgentiobiose (4), respectively.
Moreover, the antioxidant activity of these compounds was evaluated by the ABTS • method.
However, no significant activity was observed (Fig. S9) compared to the control.
All these compounds are sinapic acid glycoside esters. The radical scavenging effects of
these sinapoylglycosides were significantly lower compared to that of free sinapic acid.
These results are in accordance with previous observations indicating that sinapic acid has a
higher radical scavenging activity than its glycoside esters but with some exceptions, the
strength of the antioxidant activity of the latter being dependent on the type of conjugation
[29-30].
4. Concluding remarks
On the basis of the results obtained in this study, CE showed faster analysis and higher
identification potential for phenolic acids in rapeseed extracts compared to HPLC. The
antioxidant activity of the extracted samples was evaluated using DPPH•+, ABTS•+ and EPR
(ABTS•+) methods. Among the different plant extracts tested, it was found that the Chinese
seed extract exhibited the highest radical scavenging activity. All components responsible
22
for the antioxidant activity in rapeseed are currently not yet completely identified.
Therefore, further investigation is needed to isolate and identify the antioxidant compounds
present in this plant. Furthermore, the in vivo antioxidant activity of the extracts should also
be assessed.
Acknowledgements
We gratefully appreciate the financial support from the International Science and
Technology Cooperation Program of Guangzhou, China (201807010022), the Science and
Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province, China (2015A020211018) and the
Erasmus+ ULiège exchange program.
Conflict of interest
The authors have declared no conflict of interest.
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Figure captions:
Fig. 1. CE separation of reference compounds and components from the rapeseed
extracts. Separation conditions: capillary, 58.5 ×50 µm; applied voltage, 25 kV; electric
current, 75 µA; applied temperature, 20 °C; buffer, 70 mM sodium tetraborate (pH 9.35);
injection, 50 mbar for 10 s; UV detection wavelength, 254 nm. Peaks: 1. Chlorogenic acid; 2.
Cinnamic acid; 3. Sinapic acid; 4. Ferulic acid; 5. Syringic acid; 6. Ellagic acid; 7. p-Coumaric
acid; 8. Vanillic acid; 9. Caffeic acid; 10. Gallic acid; 11. p-Hydroxybenzoic acid.
200
10
Leaf
8 10
7
Absorbance (mAU)
Flower
3
45 9 10 Chinese seed
3
5 10
Cake
3
5 8 9 10 Belgian seed
3 5 7 8 9 10 11
1 2 4 6
11 mix
0
10 20 30 40
Time (min)
29
Fig. 2. HPLC chromatograms of reference compounds and rapeseed extracts. Stationary
phase: Lichrospher ®100 RP-C18 endcapped (250 mm × 4.6 mm id, 5 μm); mobile phase:
0.025% (v/v) TFA in water (solvent A) and ACN (solvent B) with a linear gradient: 0~5 min,
5% B; 5~10 min, 5%~7% B; 10~32 min, 7% B; 32~40 min, 7%~10% B; 40~70 min, 10%~18% B;
70~90 min, 18%~40% B; 90~100 min, 40%~60% B; 100~100.1 min, 60~5% B; 100.1~105.5
min, 5% B; flow rate: 1.0 mL/min; sample injection volume: 10 μL; temperature: 25 °C and
detection wavelength: 254 nm. Peaks: 1. Chlorogenic acid; 2. Cinnamic acid; 3. Sinapic acid;
4. Ferulic acid; 5. Syringic acid; 6. Ellagic acid; 7. p-Coumaric acid; 8. Vanillic acid; 9. Caffeic
acid; 10. Gallic acid; 11. p-Hydroxybenzoic acid.
2000
11 Leaf
11
Absorbance (mAU)
Flower
3
11 Chinese seed
Cake
3
Belgian seed
10 11 8 9 4 3 6 2
1 5 7 11 mix
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Time (min)
30
Fig. 3. Antioxidant activity of the extracted samples determined by DPPH•+ (A) and ABTS•+
(B) assays.
A Leaf
1.0 Flower
Chinese seed
Belgian seed
Cake
0.8
DPPH scavenging
0.6
0.4
.
0.2
0.0
0 100 200 300 400 500
Concentration (g/mL) Leaf
B Flower
Chinese seed
1.0 Belgian seed
Cake
0.8
ABTS scavenging
0.6
.
0.4
0.2
0.0
0 50 100 150 200 250
Concentration (g/mL)
31
Fig. 4. Antioxidant activity of the extracted samples against ABTS•+ was determined by EPR
spectroscopy (A) and the EPR signal intensity for Chinese seed under different
concentrations (31.2, 62.5, 125 μg/mL) (B)
1.0 Leaf
A Flower
Chinese seed
0.8
Belgium seed
Cake
0.6
ABTS scavenging
0.4
.
0.2
0.0
-0.2
20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Concentration (g/mL)
6
2.0x10 125 g/mL
62.5 g/mL
B Chinese seed 31.2 g/mL
ABTS-DMSO
EPR signal intensity (a.u.)
0.0
6
-2.0x10
3440 3460 3480 3500 3520 3540
Magnetic field (G)
32
Table 1. Compounds identified in rapeseed extracts (leaf, cake, Chinese seed, flower and
Belgian seed) by use of three separation techniques
Techniques Identified compounds
CE sinapic acid, ferulic acid, syringic acid,
p-coumaric acid, vanillic acid, caffeic
acid, gallic acid
TLC None
HPLC p-hydroxybenzoic acid, sinapic acid
Table 2. Total polyphenol content of the extracted samples
Sample Content (mean ± SD, %) RSD (n=3,%)
Chinese seeds 21.07 ± 1.32 2.12
Belgian seeds 20.52 ± 1.91 1.56
Flowers 15.73 ± 2.58 2.03
Cake 14.43 ± 2.38 1.98
Leaves 5.40 ± 0.94 1.23
33
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Article in Journal of Separation Science · November 2018

Olivia Jansen Michel Frederich

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Ange Mouithys-Mickalad Gwenael Nys

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Hypolipidemic effect of foods and natural product View project

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CE, HPLC, and TLC analyses of phenolic compounds from

(CIRM), University of Liège, Avenue Hippocrate 15, 4000 Liège, Belgium

of Liège, Avenue Hippocrate 15, 4000 Liège, Belgium

Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Medicines (CIRM), University of Liège, Avenue

Hippocrate 15, 4000 Liège, Belgium.

E-mail address: marianne.fillet@ulg.ac.be (M. Fillet).

Tel: +32 4 3664345; Fax: +32 4 3664347.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Non-standard abbreviations: ABTS, 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzohiazoline-6-sulphonic acid;

CM-β-CD, Carboxymethyl-β-CD; DS, Degree of substitution; DPPH,

2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl; DAD, diode array detector; EPR, Electron paramagnetic

resonance; FA, formic acid; MeOH, methanol; TFA, trifluoroacetate.

Keywords: Anti-oxidant activity; Capillary electrophoresis; High Performance Liquid

Chromatography; Phenolic compounds; Thin Layer Chromatography;

electrophoresis technique offers several advantages for the identification of phenolic

(3-ethylbenzohiazoline-6-sulphonic acid assay, free radical 2,2-diphenyl -1-picrylhydrazyl

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

metabolites (phenolic compounds) with antioxidant activity including polyphenols, tannins,

estimated using 2,2-azinobis (3-ethyl-benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assay,

2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay [2-3] and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR)

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

from rapeseed plant using a BGE composed of 150 mM borate buffer, 15 mM

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

and identified by Q-TOF-MS and tested for their antioxidant properties.

2. Materials and methods

2.1 Chemicals and reagents

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on domestic market (Henan, China).

(Valkenswaard, the Netherlands). Triethanolamine, ammonia solution (25%, v/v),

from Merck (Darmstadt, Germany). 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and

2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzohiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) were from Fluka (Bornem,

(phosphomolybdotungstic reagent) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. Carboxymethyl

Macherey-Nagel (Düren, Germany).

2.2. Instrumentation and separation conditions

(Waldbronn, Germany) consisted of a quaternary pump, an automatic injector, a

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detection wavelength was 254 nm.

performed at a pressure of approximately 1 bar. Injections were made by applying a

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sheets (20 × 20 cm). Ethyl acetate/MeOH/FA/H2O (20/2.5/0.5/1, v/v/v/v) was chosen as

5.7 (Desaga, Wiesloch, Germany) equipped with a Hitachi HV-C20AP camera.

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to appropriate concentration, then filtered through a 0.45 µm filter membrane.

precursor ion and the quality of matching of the product ions).

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spectrometer (Bruker, Karlsruhe, Germany).

2.3. Sample preparation

30 °C. The slurries were weighed and dissolved in MeOH.

Standard solutions of ferulic, sinapic, chlorogenic, gallic, cinnamic, 4-hydroxybenzoic,

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operations were performed in the dark to avoid photodegradation.

2.4. Antioxidant activity assays

2.4.1 Total polyphenol content

running water and transferred quantitatively to a 50 mL volumetric flask. The

CTP (%)=(62.5A1m2)/A2*m1×100 (1)