Characterization of the endogenous enzymatic hydrolyses of Petroselinum crispum glycosides: Determined by chromatography upon their sugar and flavonoid products

•Identification and quantification of relevant constituents of Petroselinum crispum.•Analysis of the endogenous enzymatic hydrolysis products of fruit and leaf tissues.•Release of apiose and glucose by the stepwise endogenous enzymatic hydrolysis mechanism.•Mass fragmentation study of the apiosyl-apiose and apiosyl-glucose TMS derivatives.•Invertase enzyme activity proved to be independent of parsley tissues. The behavior of the flavonoid diglycosides, relevant constituents of parsley (Petroselinum crispum) fruit (PFr) and leaf (PLe) samples was characterized upon their enzymatic hydrolyses applying complementary liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (LC-UV) and gas chromatography mass selective (GC–MS) detections. Analyses were performed in quantitative manner, from the same extracts as a function of hydrolysis times. Both in fruit and leaf tissue extracts, in intact and in enzyme hydrolyzed ones, apigenin, chrysoeriol, their glycosides, sugars, sugar alcohols, carboxylic acids and phytosterols, in total 17 constituents were identified and quantified. Based primarily on the selective mass fragmentation properties of the trimethylsilyl (oxime) ether/ester derivatives of constituents, we confirmed several novelties to the field. (i) It was shown for the first time that in parsley tissues different types of glycosidase enzyme are active. In PFr samples, both the stepwise and disaccharide specific endogenous mechanisms were certified, quantifying simultaneously the continuous release of apigenin, chrysoeriol, 2-O-apiosyl-apiose, apiose and glucose. (ii) 2-O-Apiosyl-glucose was demonstrated as disaccharide due to its formation under derivatization conditions from parsley glycosides. (iii) Both in PFr and in PLe samples even the invertase enzyme activity was attainable: sucrose decomposition in both tissues was going on with the same intensity. Three different types of enzymatic glycosidase processes were followed with their specific hydrolysis products by means of HPLC-UV and GC–MS, simultaneously.