Direct
Assessment of Phytochemicals Inherent in Plant
Tissues Using Extractive Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry
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Abstract
An ambient pressure ionization mass
spectrometric strategy called
internal extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (iEESI-MS)
has been developed and applied for direct profiling of labile phytochemicals
inherent in various native plant tissues, including leaves, roots,
and fruits. By passing the electrospray solvent through the plant
tissue, a variety of phytochemicals, such as amino acids, sugars (e.g.,
glucose, sucrose, polysaccharides, etc.), and alkaloids, were continuously
extracted from the sample interior, driven toward the natural/cut
electro-spraying tip, and vaporized into gaseous ions for mass spectrometric
interrogation. Phytochemical patterns obtained by iEESI–MS
permit a rapid differentiation between various species of ginkgo plant
and strawberry maturity stages, as well as characterization of physiological/pathologic
conditions of chlorophytum comosum. Our experimental results further
demonstrate that the established iEESI–MS approach is potentially
useful for direct phytochemomics studies with minimal biodegradation,
allowing elucidation of plant metabolism with high speed, specificity,
and simplicity of analysis