Analysis of the constituents and quality control of Viola odorata aqueous preparations by HPLC-DAD and HPLC-ESI-MS.

In the present study, a method based on liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) coupled to an electrospray ionisation (ESI) interface was developed for the determination of the constituents in the aqueous preparations of Viola odorata L. flowering tops. The developed assay was fast, simple and effective and permitted the quality control of the preparations. The aim of this work was to assess the qualitative and quantitative profile of the investigated preparations, which find until today wide applications in food and cosmetic industry, and to propose a validated method for their quality control. Characteristic constituents of V. odorata flowers are considered to be the anthocyanins; however, a detailed literature research showed that data concerning their chemical content are scarce. HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS analyses supported by extensive preparative chromatographic investigations and 2D NMR analyses revealed the predominance of complex flavonol glycosides and permitted the complete characterisation of the content of V. odorata preparations. This is the first report of detailed analysis of the chemical composition of V. odorata flowers.