Phenolic characterisation of selected Salacia species using LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis.

Phenolic characterisation was carried out on the leaf of three Salacia species such as Salacia chinensis, Salacia fruticosa and Salacia oblonga using liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry equipped with electrospray ionisation interface. The estimation of total phenolics was carried out spectrophotometrically using Folin-Ciocalteu method. HPLC diode-array detection has been used for the preliminary identification of phenolic compounds, and liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry analyses were employed for their characterisation. The fragmentation patterns of the compounds during collision-induced dissociation led to the structural elucidation of the separated compounds.