Advances in phenolic compounds analysis of aromatic plants and their potential applications

Background: Aromatic plants may contribute for human health promotion due to their antioxidant properties and also by replacing added salt in foods. Phenolic compounds are one of the major groups contributing for aromatic plants properties, including the prevention of cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Scope and approach: This review focuses on the main uses of aromatic plants generally recognized as safe (GRAS) and overviews the extraction, purification and analytical methods used to determine phenolics in these food matrices. The current state of the art is evaluated and future trends in the analysis of these compounds and food industry applications are discussed. Key findings and conclusions: In general, aromatic plants are complex matrices regarding their content on phenolic compounds. Their composition can be affected by the chemical structure of the studied analytes, the selected methods, the composition/nature of the aromatic plant and storage conditions. The most usual separation technique to determine these compounds is High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) coupled with ultraviolet (UV) or diode array detectors (DAD), although the use of mass spectrometry (MS) detectors is increasing. The future trends include the use of more sophisticated and automated techniques in order to reduce both analysis time and the amount of solvents used.Food industry widely uses aromatic plants, but other industries like food packaging, cosmetics, perfumery and pharmaceutical can also benefit from their properties.