Development of an Ultrahigh-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry Method for Multiclass Phytohormone Quantification Via Multifunctional Chemical Derivatization

  • J Agric Food Chem. 2026 May 27;74(20):15910-15920. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.6c01953.
Michael Gigl  1 ,  Michael Dankesreiter  2 ,  Larissa Barl  3 ,  Carlos Agius  4 ,  Christian Schmid  5 ,  Magdalena Holzer  5 ,  Chris-Carolin Schön  3 ,  Claus Schwechheimer  4 ,  Corinna Dawid  2  5  6
Affiliations
  • 1. Junior Research Group Food Processing and Health, ZIEL Institute for Food and Health, Technical University of Munich, Lise-Meitner-Str. 34, 85354 Freising, Germany.
  • 2. Professorship for Chemosensory Food Systems, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Lise-Meitner-Str. 34, 85354 Freising, Germany.
  • 3. Chair of Plant Breeding, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Liesel-Beckmann-Str. 2, 85354 Freising, Germany.
  • 4. Chair of Plant Systems Biology, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Emil-Ramann-Strasse 8, 85354 Freising, Germany.
  • 5. Chair of Food Chemistry and Molecular Sensory Science, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Lise-Meitner-Str. 34, 85354 Freising, Germany.
  • 6. Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich, Lise-Meitner-Str. 34, 85354 Freising, Germany.
PMID: 42145237 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.6c01953
Abstract

Plant growth regulation and responses to biotic and abiotic stress factors are mediated by phytohormones. Understanding the effects of the phytometabolome is essential for addressing future global agricultural and food sector challenges. Therefore, a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method was developed to improve the ability to determine the concentrations of various phytohormones. Using only 20 mg of plant material, a total of 27 Hormones from different classes, including 18 Gibberellins, Abscisic acid, salicylic acid, Auxin, and jasmonates, can be analyzed in 10 min via the stable isotope dilution assay approach. Using a carbodiimide-hydrazine one-pot multifunctional chemical derivatization approach, the analytes can be detected with quantitation limits ranging from 0.04 to 29.9 nM. Application of the method to tomato, maize, and cress verified its applicability, thus enabling quantitative multiclass Phytohormone profiling.

Keywords
LC-MS/MS; multifunctional chemical derivatization; phytohormones; plant stress.
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