Planta Med 2013; 79 - PO3
DOI: 10.1055/s-0033-1348783

Analysis of Various Cinnamon Samples Utilizing (Direct Analysis in Real Time) DART-QTOF-MS

TJ Smillie 1, B Avula 1, YH Wang 1, J Zweigenbaum 2, IA Khan 1, 3
  • 1National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
  • 2Agilent Technologies, 2850 Centerville Rd. Wilmington, DE 19808 – 1606 USA
  • 3Department of Pharmacognosy and Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA

The use of cinnamon as a spice and flavoring agent is widespread throughout the world. Many different species of plants are commonly referred to as “cinnamon”. “True cinnamon” refers to the dried inner bark of Cinnamomum verum, other “cinnamon” species, C. cassia, C. loureiroi, and C. burmannii, commonly known as cassia, are also marketed as cinnamon. In the present study, coumarin and other marker compounds indicative of “cinnamon” were analyzed using DART-QTOF-MS. This method involved the use of [M+H]+ ions in positive mode in addition to Principal Component Analysis (PCA) using Mass Profiler Professional software to visualize several samples for quality and to discriminate “true cinnamon” from other Cinnamomum species using the accurate mass capabilities of QTOF-MS.