Analysis of Phenolic Compounds in Developing Seeds of Brassica napus

Phenolics are abundant in seeds of Brassica napus, mainly including hydroxycinnamic acid de- rivatives, proanthocyanidins (PAs) and flavonoid derivatives. Different research methods have been reported by researchers. In this research, both chemical analysis and HPLC-ESI/MS 2 analysis were conducted to compare the different compositions of soluble phenolics in embryo and seed coat of B. napus. The extraction parameters were also optimized by comparing single factors like extraction temperature and solvent. And the results showed that room temperature and solvent of 80% acetone yielded the maximum phenolics. Further comparison showed that total phenolics and flavonoids in seed coat were much higher than in embryo of im- mature seeds. Among the identified phenolics, flavonoid and proanthocyanidin in seed coat were higher than in embryo, whereas derivatives of hydroxyl-cinnamic acid were lower accumulated in seed coat than embryo. Sinapine, as the most abundant phenolics, was mainly existed in embryo. And epicatechin was abundant in seed coat, which was well known as the most abundant flavonoids.