ARS | Publication request: Modern Phytochemical Analysis: Evaluation in Plant Tissues and Processed Products

Submitted to: Association Official Analytical Chemists Midwest Section Program Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract
Publication Acceptance Date: May 23, 2007
Publication Date: May 23, 2007
Citation: Berhow, M.A., Duval, S.M., Vaughn, S.F., Tisserat, B. 2007. Modern phytochemical analysis: Evaluation in plant tissues and processed products [abstract]. Association of Analytical Chemists Meeting and Exposition, Midwest Section. Session 4. Talk 7. p.7.

Technical Abstract: Advances in chromatography separation media, solvent delivery mechanisms, microprocessor driven hardware, computer software, and chemical detectors have combined to usher in a new era of phytochemical analysis. Technological advances have given rise to bench-top gas and liquid chromatography systems¿combined with photodiode array, light scattering and mass spectra detectors¿which make the separation, analysis, identification, and quantitation of chemical species in extracts prepared from plant and animal tissues fast and accurate. Simple and robust methods developed for these systems have been developed for the identification and quantitation of most secondary metabolites, especially for compounds in the polyphenolic, terpenoid, alkaloid, and glucosinolate biosynthetic pathways. However, pitfalls include subtle problems with quantitation and interpretation of the non-light absorbing detectors and the lack of availability of pure phytochemicals for standards and biological evaluation. A rugged general analytical method will be discussed with examples of specific saponin, isoflavonoid and glucosinolate analysis. These analytical procedures will be related to current work on bioassays and the development of new functional agricultural products for agricultural pest control and human nutrition.