Application of Capillary Electrophoresis to the Determination of Polyphenols in Food Samples

Polyphenols are naturally occurring compounds found in fruits, vegetables, cereals and beverages. Nowadays, there is a high interest in these compounds because of their potential health benefits associated with the protection against the development and progression of many degenerative diseases due to their antioxidant capacity. However, their composition changes both qualitatively and quantitatively depending on the natural source. Thus, the determination of these compounds is not straightforward. Among the different techniques employed for their analysis, capillary electrophoresis is a very interesting alternative due to its high separation efficiency, high resolution power, short analysis time and low consumption of samples and reagents. This chapter presents an overview of the recent developments and applications of capillary electrophoresis for the analysis of phenolic compounds from food samples, including articles published since 2010 to date. In addition, the characteristics of the most relevant developed methodologies using different separation modes are broadly discussed.