Phenolic profile characterization of pomegranate (Punica granatum) juice by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection coupled to an electrospray ion trap mass analyzer

“Wonderful” pomegranate (Punica granatum) juice, obtained by pressure extraction of the whole fruit, was analyzed for its content in anthocyanin and non-anthocyanin phenolic components using high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection and tandem mass spectrometry analysis with positive and negative electrospray ionization (HPLC-DAD-ESI+/−/MSn) powered by an ion trap. High-throughput identification capacity from the ion trap featuring different MSn experiments (reaching up to MS4 level) led to detection of a total of 151 phenolics, 65 anthocyanin, anthocyanin–flavanol and flavanol–anthocyanin adducts, 25 of them reported for the first time in pomegranate juice, including some unusual cyanidin and pelargonidin trihexosides not previously described in natural extracts. Similarly, a total of 86 non-anthocyanin phenolic components were also identified, 39 of them reported for the first time in this juice.