Rapid detection of multiple chlorinated bis(bibenzyls) in bryophyte crude extracts using laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Chlorinated bis(bibenzyls) of the bazzanine type were detected in crude bry ophyte plant extracts of Bazzania trilobata from different locations using laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (LDI-TOF) mass spectrometry with out addition of an additional chemical matrix. The degree of chlorination c ould be identified by the characteristic isotope patterns. These results su ggest that these chlorinated compounds are not artefacts of an incidental o ccurrence, or of the sample preparation, but are genuine natural products p roduced by the liverwort or by an endosymbiotic metabolism. Copyright (C) 2 001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.