Characterization of chemical constituents from food derivates in Calabrian licorice “Glycyrrhiza glabra” using UHPLC-HRMS and tandem mass spectrometry (MSn)

Glycyrrhiza glabra, commonly known as licorice, is a popular herbal supplement used from ancient Assyrian, Egyptian, Chinese and Indian cultures for its extensive medicinal properties such as demulcent, expectorant and in ulcer healing (Armanini et al., 2002). Pharmacological effects of licorice including inhibition of gastric acid secretion, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and anti-atherogenic properties have been well verified for the treatment of chronic inflammatory conditions and possesses anticancer and antiviral activities. These biological effects are attributed to a variety of biologically active constituents: terpenoids, alkaloids, polysaccharides, polyamines, saponins and flavonoids (Fenwick et al., 1990; Simons et al., 2009; Zhang and Ye, 2009). Unfortunately among all these bioactive compound the presence of great ammount of glicirizic acid is consider responsible of much of some side effect, it may interfere with the balance of mineral salts, causing the increase blood pressure (Heikens et al., 1995). The Calabrian licorice well know as “cordara” has lower side effects if compare to the same species cultivate in other part of world for the lowest content of glycyrrhizic acid. For these reason, is very important develop a power analytical tool for the identification and classification of geographical origin of Calabrian licorice. In the present study, in order to identify geographical markers to trace the origins and history of the product an analytical method for qualitative evaluation of the secondary metabolites present in Calabrian licorice has been developed using UHPLC HRMS