Abstract

Pomegranate juices from various sources and whole fruit pomegranate were analysed using Ultra PerformanceLiquid Chromatography (UPLC) coupled with Quadrupole Time-of-flight (QTof) mass spectrometry and multivariate dataanalysis tools. Chlorogenic acid was identified in adulterated pomegranate juice samples and blends, but was absentfrom authentic pomegranate juice samples and pomegranate whole fruits grown in North America. In addition, anunknown compound with its molecular formula determined as C14H27O10, was found to exist in all pomegranate juices andpomegranate arils, but was not present in authentic cranberry, peach and blueberry juices. Without prior knowledge ofthe samples, the combination of UPLC, QTof-MS and multivariate data analysis tools enabled the detection of compoundsthat could be used as indicators of a pomegranate juice quality. MSE functionality allowed the acquisition of low energyprecursor and high energy product ions in a single run. This information combined with exact mass measurement providedconfidence for structural elucidation.