Investigation of monomeric and oligomeric wine stilbenoids in red wines by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

RATIONALE Stilbenoids are secondary plant metabolites responsible for the protection of multiple plant species including grape vine from bacterial and fungal infection. Red wine has been shown to be a major source of these compounds in the human diet, where they display an array of health benefits. Providing a more complete profile of the stilbenoids present in red wine, this study detects 41 stilbenoid compounds, 23 of which have never before been detected in red wine. METHODS Red wine extracts were scanned using an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatograph coupled to a hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass analyzer. Multiple targeted MS/MS precursor ion scan experiments were performed using electrospray ionization operated in negative mode. Precursor ion masses were scanned for the monomeric and oligomeric stilbenoids, as well as modifications such as O-glycosylation, methoxylation and oxidation products of these compounds. Accurate mass precursor and characteristic product ions afforded partial structural elucidation and assignment of these compounds. RESULTS A total of 41 (both known and novel) stilbenoids were detected in extracted red wine. In addition to the well-known monomeric stilbenes, several resveratrol-resveratrol homodimers (m/z 453.1344), resveratrol-piceatannol heterodimers (m/z 469.1293) and piceatannol-piceatannol homodimers (m/z 485.1236) were detected. Modified dimers of resveratrol including O-glycosylated (m/z 615.1872), methoxylated (m/z 485.1606) and oxidized (m/z 471.1449) dimers were also detected. Multiple trimers of resveratrol (m/z 679.1978) were detected for the first time in red wine, as well as some known and some novel stilbenoid tetramers (m/z 905.2604). CONCLUSIONS In summary, 41 stilbenoids were detected in red wine, 23 for the first time. Both monomeric and oligomeric stilbenoids were partially identified and assigned by their accurate mass precursor ions and characteristic stilbenoid fragmentation patterns. Knowledge gained from these experiments contributes to a more complete understanding of the origin of the beneficial properties of red wine. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.