Analysis of chemical compounds in different solvent extracts with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
Objective To compare similarities and differences of different solvents in the extracts of blueberry fruit.Methods Compounds in the extracts of Patriot blueberry (Semen trigonellae) extracted using different solvents of S1 (100% methanol with 0.1% formic acid), S2 (50% aqueous methanol), S3 (70% acetone, 29.5% water, with 0.5 % acetic acid) or S4 (50% aqueous ethanol) were analyzed and compared by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with pre-column derivatization.Results Acid, alcohol, phenolic compounds, esters, sugar, ketone, alkane and other compounds were identified from the extracts. The results showed that S4 was the more suitable solvent for extracting the acids and S3 for extracting sugars while S2 was relatively good in extracting ester, phenolic compounds, alkane and others compounds from the fruits. So S2 solution was a better choice than the others for extracting chemical compounds from blueberry.Conclusion This study provides a new insight into the needs of different types of blueberry components. Meanwhile, this overall identification of chemical components in blueberry is of great significance to the quality control and effective utilization of its functional compounds.