{
  "abstract": "Anthocyanin-rich maize offers opportunities for nutritional biofortification and natural food colorants, but conventional chromatographic methods limit the throughput needed for large-scale breeding programs. We developed a 5-minute ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) method for quantifying maize anthocyanins and compared its performance with a 25-minute method. Anthocyanins from five commercial products and one breeding line were analyzed using optimized chromatographic gradients and multiple-reaction monitoring. Anthocyanin concentration and composition varied substantially among varieties, with differing contributions from cyanidin-, peonidin-, and pelargonidin-derived compounds. The 5-minute method reduced analytical runtime fivefold while preserving the relative ranking of varieties by total anthocyanin concentration, although absolute concentrations differed slightly between methods for most varieties. Random-effects modeling indicated that the methodology used to phenotype maize represented less than 1% of the total variation, further reinforcing that our rapid method is suitable for profiling breeding populations. This rapid UHPLC–MS/MS method provides a high-throughput analytical platform for quantifying predominant maize anthocyanins, facilitating phenotyping and selection for anthocyanin biofortification in maize breeding programs.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "USDA-ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, 1100 Bates Ave., Houston, TX 77030, USA",
    "Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, 370 Olsen Blvd., College Station, TX 77843, USA",
    "USDA-ARS Responsive Agriculture Food Systems Research Unit, 498 Olsen Blvd., College Station, TX 77843, USA"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Franz J. O’Hanna"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shaji K. Chacko",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4283-1884"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Samuel D. Jesse",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0272-497X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Alexander I. Hernandez"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Wenwei Xu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Timothy Paape"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Michael P. Dzakovich",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1375-427X"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3frmvsx3dfkaz.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/molecules31213920",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "3frmvsx3dfkaz",
  "issns": [
    "1420-3049"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/31/21/3920",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-30",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3frmvsx3dfkaz.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T00:20:49Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/molecules31213920",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/31/21/3920"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "issn:1420-3049",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A Five-Minute UHPLC–MS/MS Method Facilitates Anthocyanin Biofortification in Maize (Zea mays L.)",
  "title_text": "A Five-Minute UHPLC–MS/MS Method Facilitates Anthocyanin Biofortification in Maize (Zea mays L.)",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T00:20:47Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3frmvsx3dfkaz",
  "venue": "Molecules",
  "versions": []
}