Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry quantification of urinary proanthocyanin A2 dimer and its potential use as a biomarker of cranberry intake.

The lack of a biomarker for the consumption of cranberries has confounded the interpretation of several studies investigating the effect of cranberry products, especially juices, on health outcomes. The objectives of this pilot study were to develop a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric method for the quantification of the proanthocyanin dimer A-2 in human urine and validate urinary proanthocyanin dimer A-2 as a biomarker of cranberry intake. Five healthy, nonsmoking, premenopausal women (20-30 years of age, body mass index: 18.5-25 kg/m(2) ) were assigned to consume a cranberry beverage containing 140 mg proanthocyanin and 35 kilocalories at 237 mL/day, according to a weekly dosing schedule for 7 weeks. Eleven 24 h and morning spot urine samples each were collected from each subject. A reliable, sensitive method for the detection of proanthocyanin dimer A-2 in urine using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was developed with a limit of quantitation of 0.25 ng/mL and a relative standard deviation of 7.26%, precision of 5.7%, and accuracy of 91.7%. While proanthocyanin dimer A-2 was quantifiable in urine, it did not appear to be excreted in a concentration that corresponded to the dosing schedule and intake of cranberry juice.