In recent years, the consumption of polyphenols has been increasing, largely due to its beneficial effects on health. They are present in a wide variety of foods, but their extraction and characterization are complicated since they are mostly in complex matrices. For this reason, the use of selective, sensitive, and versatile analytical techniques such as liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is necessary. In this review, the most relevant studies of the last years regarding the analysis of polyphenols in different matrices by comprehensive LC-MS/MS are discussed. Relevant steps such as extraction, sample purification, and chromatographic analysis methods are emphasized. In particular, the following methodological aspects are discussed: (a) the proper selection of the extraction technique, (b) the extraction and elution solvents, (c) the purification step, (d) the selection of both stationary and mobile phases for the chromatographic separation of compounds, and (e) the different conditions for mass spectrometry. Overall, this review presents the data from the most recent studies, in a comprehensive way, thus providing and simplifying the information of the great variety of works that exist in the literature on this wide topic.
Keywords: LC–MS/MS; analytical methods; anthocyanins; electrospray ionization; flavonols; phenolic compounds.