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Determination of Ellagic Acid, Punicalagin, and Castalagin from Terminalia ferdinandiana (Kakadu plum) by a Validated UHPLC-PDA-MS/MS Methodology

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Abstract

Punicalagin, a bioactive ellagitannin predominantly found in Pomegranate, has a wide range of health benefits including potent antioxidant properties. The metabolism of punicalagin in human body produces urolithins and ellagic acid. Ellagic acid is a natural phenolic antioxidant and is also known for its antiproliferative activities. Terminalia ferdinandiana (Kakadu plum) was reported to be a rich source of ellagic acid. In this study, an UHPLC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for accurate determination of ellagic acid levels and bioactive ellagitannins (punicalagin and castalagin). Total ellagic acid content in the fruits and leaves were 2.76 and 9.54 g/100 g DW. Punicalagin contents in the fruits and leaves were 74 and 49 mg/100 g DW, and castalagin contents were 1.1 and 0.8 mg/100 g DW. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report about punicalagin and castalagin concentrations in Kakadu plum fruits and leaves. The findings are very promising regarding the potential use of Kakadu plum fruit and leaf extracts as natural preservatives in the food industry.

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Funding

This project was funded by AgriFutures Australia Grant 201430161. Saleha Akter’s PhD was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship and the University of Queensland.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, Health and Food Sciences Precinct, 39 Kessels Rd, Coopers Plains, Qld, 4108, Australia

    Saleha Akter, Hung Hong, Michael Netzel, Mary Fletcher & Yasmina Sultanbawa

  2. Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services, 39 Kessels Rd, Coopers Plains, Qld, 4108, Australia

    Ujang Tinggi

  3. CSIRO Agriculture and Food, 306 Carmody Road, St Lucia, QLD, 4067, Australia

    Simone Osborne

Authors
  1. Saleha Akter
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  2. Hung Hong
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  3. Michael Netzel
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  4. Ujang Tinggi
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  5. Mary Fletcher
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  6. Simone Osborne
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  7. Yasmina Sultanbawa
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Contributions

SA, MN, MF, and YS conceived and designed the study. SA performed the experiments, analysed data, and wrote the manuscript. HH helped in performing the experiments, obtaining, interpreting, and analysing the data and drafting the manuscript. HH, MN, UT, SO, MF, and YS critically revised and edited the manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yasmina Sultanbawa.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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Conflict of interest

Saleha Akter declares that she has no conflict of interest. Hung Hong declares that he has no conflict of interest. Michael Netzel declares that he has no conflict of interest. Ujang Tinggi declares that he has no conflict of interest. Mary Fletcher declares that she has no conflict of interest. Simone Osborne declares that she has no conflict of interest. Yasmina Sultanbawa declares that she has no conflict of interest.

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Akter, S., Hong, H., Netzel, M. et al. Determination of Ellagic Acid, Punicalagin, and Castalagin from Terminalia ferdinandiana (Kakadu plum) by a Validated UHPLC-PDA-MS/MS Methodology. Food Anal. Methods 14, 2534–2544 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-021-02063-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-021-02063-8

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