Maple sugar, produced from the popular natural sweetener, maple syrup, has not been investigated for its phytochemical constituents. Herein, UFLC-TOF-MS/MS analyses using authentic standards (previously isolated from maple syrup by our laboratory), revealed over fifteen phenolic compounds primarily, lignans, namely, guaiacylglycerol-β-O-4′-dihydroconiferyl alcohol, syringaresinol, leptolepisol D, and secoisolariciresinol, from a phenolic-enriched maple sugar ethyl acetate extract. In addition, several compounds were isolated and evaluated for their neuroprotective effects in β-amyloid induced neurotoxicity in <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i>. The presence and levels of these bioactive compounds in maple sugar warrants its further investigation as a functional food.

Maple sugar, an unexplored maple food product: UFLC-TOF-MS/MS Characterization and neuroprotective activities of phenolics

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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