Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and chemometrics, a combined investigation tool for complex phytochemical problems

Abstract The phenolic content in the bark of poplar trees was analysed by RP-HPLC with the aim of finding some evidence of a relationship between the presence of phenols (either the total amount or the amount of an individual specific compound) and the differential resistance to the fungus Dothichiza populea that is found in different clones of these trees. Direct comparison of chromatographic results did not allow any useful information to be gleaned on this subject. On the other hand, the application of principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis methods to the quantitative chromatographic data gave very promising results, allowing discrimination between resistant and susceptible poplars and the identification of phenolic compounds that are important for such discrimination.