Rapid Identification of Constituents of Aronia Melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliott Fruit by UPLC-Qrbitrap-MS/MS and GNPS Molecular Network

The fruits of Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliot have high nutritional value and medicinal value. This fruit is rich in flavonoids, anthocyanins and anthocyanins and presents good biological activity and pharmacological effects in antioxidant, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, anti-cancer, antidepressant, anti-fatigue, etc. It is necessary for the development of this fruit material to explore more chemical constituents. The Global Natural Products Social (GNPS) molecular network based on mass spectrometry technology can establish an association network with the similarity and fingerprint characteristics of similar components, and quickly analyze unknown components in natural products. In this study, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography Orbitrap tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-Qrbitrap-MS/MS) combined GNPS molecular network was developed for the rapid analysis of constituents in fruits of Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliot. Under the positive and negative ion modes, the high resolution mass data were acquired. The multiple tandem mass and fragmentation rules were summarized. The molecular network was established based on the similarity of characteristic fragmentation. According to the retention time, accurate molecular mass and fragment ions of references, the constituents in the fruits were identified and deduced. The molecular network of anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, flavonoids and organic acids were built. Totally 42 compounds are identified in the fruits of Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliot, including 20 anthocyanins, 3 proanthocyanidins, 12 flavonoids and 7 organic acids. It was concluded that UPLC-Qrbitrap-MS/MS combined with GNPS molecular network can be used to rapidly and accurately identify the constituents in fruits of Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliot. This results provides a basis for the research of efficacy substances, and the development and utilization of Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliot fruits.