Analysis of individual anthocyanins, flavanols, flavonols and other polyphenols in Pistacia lentiscus L. fruits during ripening

Abstract Pistacia lentiscus L. is a shrub of the Anacardiaceae family whose fruits are used in Tunisian and Algerian diets. The phenolic composition at 5 different physiological stages of the fruit was investigated using two different targeted methodologies: ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–UV/visible detection (UHPLC-UV/vis) for anthocyanins and UHPLC coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) for the other polyphenols. For the specific analysis of anthocyanins, compound identification was confirmed by UHPLC-MS/MS and LC-NMR analysis. This study revealed the identification of 30 phenolic compounds including 9 anthocyanins, 7 flavanols, 7 flavonols, 2 phenolic acids, 1 stilbene, 2 flavanones, 1 flavanonol and 1 dihydrochalcone. Quantification showed significant qualitative and quantitative variation in phenolic content during the ripening of P. lentiscus fruits, flavonols being the main compounds for the unripe berries and anthocyanins for ripe berries. To the best of our knowledge, our study reports the presence of piceid and protocatechuic acid in P. lentiscus L. fruits, as well as several anthocyanins in Pistacia, for the first time. The results indicate potential applications of P. lentiscus L. fruits as a source of phenolic compounds to be used as nutraceuticals and as food colorants.