Abstract: Anthocyanin pigments from Rhododendron championae Hook flowers (light red color) were primarily identified and quantified by the specific color reactions and HPLC-MS/MS. Anthocyanins were extracted by grinding with liquid nitrogen. The resulting extract was found to contain non-red flavonoid compounds (mainly flavonoids, flavonols and flavanones) and some phenolic compounds. HPLC analysis demonstrated that the extract contained at least 39 compounds, of which, 7 were identified to be myricetin-3-galactoside, quercetin3-galactoside, quercetin-3-rhamnoside, quercetin-3-glucoside, malva-3-arabinoside-5-glucoside, myricetin-3-rhamnoside and chlorogenic acid, respectively. Rhododendron championae Hook flowers were determined by UV spectrophotometry to contain 131.025 mg/100 g anthocyanin and 10.68 mg/g total flavonoids.

Key words: Rhododendron, flower pigments, high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(HPLC-MS)