Determination of Xanthohumol in Hops, Food Supplements and Beers by HPLC

Xanthohumol (XN) is the main prenylated chalcone present in hops (Humulus lupulus) with high biological activity, and it is of great importance for human health because of its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressive and chemopreventive properties. This polyphenol can be included in the diet through foods in which hops are used, such as beer or food supplements. Because of their health benefits and the increasing interest of using hops as a novel nutraceutical, the aim of this work was the identification and quantification of XN in different types of samples using a method based on high resolution liquid chromatography with a diode array detector (HPLC-DAD). The method was validated in terms of linearity, limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ), repeatability and recovery. Acceptable linearity (r² 0.9999), adequate recovery (>90% in the most of cases) and good sensitivity (LOD 16 µg/L) were obtained. Furthermore, the presence of XN in all samples was confirmed using liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) operated in negative ESI (electrospray system ionization) mode. The concentrations of XN determined in hop flowers and food supplements were above the LOQ, in a range between 0.106 and 12.7 mg/g. Beer may also represent an important source of dietary prenylflavonoids, with between 0.028 and 0.062 mg/L of XN. The results showed that the methodology proposed was suitable for the determination of XN in the different types of samples studied, and the amounts of XN varied significantly according to the selected product.