Analysis of phenolic acids in fruits by HPLC with monolithic columns

Reversed-phase HPLC was optimised for simultaneous determination of several derivatives of benzoic and hydroxycinnamic acids (so-called phenolic acids) in plums using a commercially available monolithic column. Mobile phase pH and concentration of organic modifier (methanol and acetonitrile) were tested in order to obtain the best resolution. Satisfactory separation was achieved in gradient mode with a mobile phase consisting of 50 mM phosphate buffer at pH 2.2 (solvent A) and acetonitrile (solvent B). The limits of detection for a UV detector ranged between 0.098 and 2.04 mu g/ml, for vanillic acid and p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, respectively. The developed method was used for monitoring the content of polyphenolic acids in plums during their ripening process. The presence of these constituents was confirmed by checking their MS spectra.