Patterns in content of phenolic compounds in leaves of mountain birches along a strong pollution gradient

The contents of individual low-molecular weight phenolic compounds (LMWPs) in mountain birch, Betula puvescens ssp. czerepanovii, leaves collected dur ing 1996-1998 in six plots 7-65 km south of the nickel-copper smelter at Mo nchegorsk, Kola Peninsula, NW Russia, were reported. A high-performance liq uid chromatography-electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS) was used for the rapid identification of low-molecular weight phenolics. Qu antification was performed by the analytical high-performance liquid chroma tography with UV-detection. Contents of (+)-catechin and some gallic acid d erivatives decreased significantly, and contents of flavonol glycosides sli ghtly increased with the distance from the smelter. Hydroxycinnamic acid de rivatives remained unaffected. These changes in birch leaf phenolics are pr obably related to the effect of environmental contamination on the biosynth etic reactions both in the shikimate and phenylpropanoid pathways. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.