An accessible HPLC-DAD method for the direct detection of acrolein-trapping compounds in complex plant matrices

Acrolein is a highly reactive α,β-unsaturated aldehyde implicated in numerous diseases and pathological conditions. Developing strategies to alleviate its harmful effects is thus of key importance, with scavengers that trap acrolein emerging as a promising approach. Recent efforts have focused on identifying effective phytoconstituents, but detecting active components in complex plant matrices remains a challenging and time-consuming task. This study introduces a new application of HPLC-DAD for the instantaneous detection of acrolein scavengers in such complex extracts. To mimic this chemical diversity and test the method's efficiency, a multicomponent mixture of ten phytochemical standards was employed. The procedure involved pre-column incubation of the mixture with varying concentrations of acrolein, allowing for the selective identification of active components through signal reduction. The results were further validated through conventional evaluation of individual constituents, confirming the method's reliability.•Development of a novel application of HPLC-DAD for the instantaneous detection of acrolein-trapping constituents in complex plant matrices•Application of the method to a ten-phytoconstituent mixture designed to simulate the chemical complexity of a plant extract•Validation of method efficiency through comparison with conventional scavenging evaluations of individual compounds.