Selective Enhancement of Caffeoylquinic Acid Derivative via UV Irradiation and Validation of Analytical Method in the Aerial Aster × chusanensis Y. S. Lim

Aster × chusanensis Y.S.Lim is equipped with mass plant growth strategies that can potentially develop into functional foods. A. chusanensis was grown on a vertical farm until it was budding. The plants were transported to a growth chamber equipped with ultraviolet (UV)-A and UV-B lights and irradiated for 48 h. The base peak intensity (BPI) of the A. chusanensis control displayed eight predominant metabolites, namely, 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid, rutin, 3,4-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid, 3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid, biorobin, luteolin-7-O-β-glucoside, 4,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid, and luteolin, as identified using LC-Q-TOF/MS analysis. UV-A-irradiated A. chusanensis showed an increase in the content of caffeoylquinic acid (CQA) derivatives (peaks 1, 3, 4, and 7). Thus, CQA-enhanced A. chusanensis, treated with UV-A irradiation, was used to develop analytical validation methods using HPLC-DAD. Quantitative analysis of the CQA derivatives was conducted based on the developed analytical method. The requirements for specificity, linearity, accuracy, and precision were met in accordance with the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) and the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists (AOAC) guidelines. The total contents of CQA derivatives in A. chusanensis were improved by ∼2.2 times (from 17,081 to 37,243 μg/g) following the UV-A irradiation treatment.