Simultaneous Analysis of Phytohormones in Fruits Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry

A method for the highly sensitive detection of some phytohormones is described. We evaluated some simple methods for the extraction and purification of phytohormones using organic solvents and high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI). The methodology developed was used for the simultaneous detection and quantitative determination of a series of 5 phytohormones, including indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), abscisic acid (ABA), cytokinins (CKs), gibberellins (GAs) and jasmonic acids (JAs). The detection limits ranged from 0.07 pmol for JA to 4.0 pmol for ABA. Compared with previous negative electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) methods, the sensitivity was found to be sufficient for the detection and analysis of the above phytohormones. This method was sufficiently sensitive to permit the measurement of the endogenous concentrations of IAA, ABA, CKs, GAs, and JAs in extracts of the “Le lectier” fruit.