Simultaneous determination of flavonoids in different parts of Citrus reticulata 'Chachi' fruit by high performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detection.

Flavonoids are important polyphenolic secondary metabolites in plant. Citrus reticulata 'Chachi' fruit are rich in flavonoids and are being used as functional antioxidant ingredients for the treatment of atherosclerosis and cancer, etc. A high performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detection system was used to analyze five flavonoids, namely, naringin, hesperidin, didymin, tangeretin and nobiletin, in different parts of C. reticulata 'Chachi' fruit. The chromatographic analysis was performed on a C(18) column with a gradient elution of acetonitrile and water at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. Detection was carried out using a photodiode array detector at 280 nm. The calibration curves for the determination of all analytes showed good linearity over the investigated ranges (R2 > 0.9995). Precision and reproducibility were evaluated by six replicated analyses, and the R.S.D. values were less than 0.9% and 2.7%. The recoveries were between 98.37 and 103.89%. This method is promising to improve the quality control of different parts of C. reticulata 'Chachi' fruit.