Mass spectrometric imaging of flavonoid glycosides and biflavonoids in Ginkgo biloba L.

Ginkgo biloba L. is known to be rich in flavonoids and flavonoid glycosides. However, the distribution within specific plant organs (e.g. within leaves) is not known. By using HPLC-MS and MS/MS we have identified a number of previously known G. biloba flavonoid glycosides and biflavonoids from leaves. Namely, kaempferol, quercetin, isorhamnetin, myricetin, laricitrin/mearnsetin and apigenin glycosides were identified. Furthermore, biflavonoids like ginkgetin/isoginkgetin were also detected. The application of MALDI mass spectrometric imaging, enabled the compilation of concentration profiles of flavonoid glycosides and biflavonoids in G. biloba L. leaves. Both, flavonoid glycosides and biflavonoids show a distinct distribution in leaf thin sections of G. biloba L.