HPLC/CE-ESI-TOF-MS methods for the characterization of polyphenols in almond-skin extracts

We have developed two rapid methods using CE and HPLC coupled to ESI-TOF-MS and both these methods have been compared for the separation and characterization of antioxidant phenolic compounds in almond-skin extract. Under optimum CE-ESI-TOF-MS conditions we achieved the determination of nine compounds from the polar fraction in 35 min. Furthermore, by using the HPLC-ESI-TOF-MS method, a total of 23 compounds corresponding to phenolic acids and the flavonoid family were identified from almond skin in only 9 min. The sensitivity, together with mass accuracy and true isotopic pattern of TOF-MS, allowed the identification of a broad series of known phenolic compounds present in almond-skin extracts using HPLC and CE as separation techniques.