Integrative Analysis Based on HPLC-DAD-MS/MS and NMR of Bertholletia excelsa Bark Biomass Residues:Determination of Ellagic Acid Derivatives

Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl. (Lecythidaceae) is a South American tree worldwide known for providing the Brazil nuts. In the Amazon Region, B. excelsa is found in monocultures, integrating agroforestries and providing raw materials for food and timber industries. Through the application of an integrative analysis based on high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector and tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-MS/MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques, the present study showed that B. excelsa bark biomass residues contain large quantities of ellagic acid (EA) and its derivatives. Qualitatively, five compounds were characterized for the first time in this species. Quantitations were carried out to determine the total amount of these compounds in outer and inner bark tissues. A total of 4.96 and 44.09 g of EA derivatives per kg of dry residues was determined for the outer and inner barks, respectively. Among the EA derivatives, eschweilenol C, ellagic acid and valoneic acid dilactone were the main compounds. These results pointed B. excelsa barks as a valuable biomass residue with potential to be source of health-promoting compounds. Therefore, a potential raw material as source of valuable bioactive phenolic compounds is described herein.

巴西栗树（Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl.，隶属于玉蕊科Lecythidaceae）是一种原产南美地区的乔木，因产出巴西坚果而享誉全球。在亚马逊区域，该物种既可形成单一栽培林，也可融入农林业系统，并为食品与木材工业提供原料。本研究依托高效液相色谱-二极管阵列检测器-串联质谱（high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector and tandem mass spectrometry，HPLC-DAD-MS/MS）与核磁共振（nuclear magnetic resonance，NMR）技术开展整合分析，结果显示巴西栗树树皮生物质残渣中含有大量鞣花酸（ellagic acid，EA）及其衍生物。定性分析方面，本研究首次在该物种中鉴定出五种化合物；通过定量分析测定了该物种内外层树皮组织中此类化合物的总含量：外层树皮每千克干残渣中鞣花酸衍生物的总量为4.96克，内层树皮则达44.09克。在鞣花酸衍生物中，埃施魏勒醇C（eschweilenol C）、鞣花酸与瓦洛酸双内酯（valoneic acid dilactone）为主要成分。上述结果表明，巴西栗树树皮是极具开发价值的生物质残渣，有望成为促健康活性成分的来源。因此，本研究证实巴西栗树树皮可作为珍贵生物活性酚类化合物的潜在原料来源。