Rapid detection of chlorinated bisbibenzyls in Bazzania trilobata using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry

Chlorinated bisbibenzyls of the bazzanin type are detected in crude bryophy te plant extracts of Bazzania trilobata from different locations using MALD I-TOF mass spectrometry. These results show that these chlorinated compound s are not artefacts of an incidental occurrence or of the sample preparatio n but are genuine and produced by the liverwort or an endosymbiotic metabol ism. Further experiments were performed concerning the in vitro chlorinatio n of the halogen free basic unit isoplagiochin C. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.