Metabolite profiling to discriminate different species and genus from thistles in Korea using liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Intra-specific variation in the little-known Mediterranean plant Ptilostemon casabonae (L.) Greuter analysed through phytochemical and biomolecular markers

Ptilostemon casabonae (L.) Greuter is a Mediterranean endemism traditionally used for its health-giving properties. Little is known about this species, therefore this study provides additional information about the phytochemical and biomolecular patterns of this plant, to have a combined fingerprint as a taxonomic tool. Several P. casabonae specimens were therefore collected from three different sites, two from Sardinia (Italy) and one from Corsica and the hydroalcoholic extracts of their aerial parts were investigated through HPLC-PDA-MS/MS analysis to study the phenolic composition. Quercetin, luteolin, kaempferol, apigenin and diosmetin O-glycosides, and caffeoylquinic acid derivatives were found as main components. Samples from the three sites showed similar phenolic profiles, although statistical analyses highlighted some quantitative differences for several compounds. The biomolecular analysis included amplification and sequencing of ITS, 5S-rRNA-NTS and psbA regions. No difference was found in the nucleotides among the P. casabonae samples from different geographical origins; however, a comparison with other Ptilostemon species sequences from Genbank, revealed an interspecific variability of ITS and psbA regions. The combination of the results of the phytochemical and biomolecular studies provide information on P. casabonae useful to depict this little-known plant, which can also be applied for future investigations and to obtain a fingerprint of it. Moreover, the stability of the phenolic profile within the species affords to identify a set of specialised metabolites useful for its chemotaxonomic characterization. At the same time, the stability of the biomolecular profile of P. casabonae, and the identification of sequences specific for this species, enables to identify useful biomolecular markers to distinguish it unequivocally.

Metabolomics Reveals that Crossbred Dairy Buffaloes Are More Thermotolerant than Holstein Cows under Chronic Heat Stress

Heat stress (HS) threatens the worldwide dairy industry by decreasing animal production performance and health. Holstein cows and dairy buffaloes are the most important dairy animals, but their differences in the metabolic mechanism of thermotolerance remain elusive. In this study, we used serum metabolomics to evaluate the differences in thermotolerance between Holstein cows and crossbred dairy buffaloes under chronic heat stress (HS) and thermal-neutral conditions. In response to HS, the body temperatures and respiratory rates were increased more for Holstein cows than for dairy buffaloes (38.78 vs 38.24 °C, p < 0.001; 43.6 vs 32.5 breaths/min, p < 0.001). HS greatly affected serum metabolites associated with amino acids, fatty acids, and bile acids. The enriched metabolic pathways of these serum metabolites are closely related to HS. We demonstrated that buffaloes adapt to HS by adopting a metabolism of branched-chain amino acids and ketogenic amino acids and gluconeogenesis, but Holstein cows decrease the effect of HS with citrulline and proline metabolism. Both physiological parameters and serum metabolic profiles indicate that dairy buffaloes are more thermotolerant than Holstein cows, providing the feasibility to vigorously develop the buffalo dairy industry in tropical and subtropical regions.

Metabolic Alterations in Two Cirsium Species Identified at Distinct Phenological Stages using UPLC-QTOF/MS

INTRODUCTION

Cirsium chanroenicum and C. setidens are commonly used both in traditional folk medicine and as a food source. The quality of different species of Cirsium at different harvest times is a function of their metabolite composition, which is determined by the phenological stage.

OBJECTIVE

We sought to determine the differences in the metabolite composition of two species of Cirsium during different phenological stages using ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometry (MS).

METHODOLOGY

Cirsium chanroenicum and C. setidens plants were collected at the floral budding and full flowering stages. Metabolic profiles of Cirsium extracts were determined using UPLC-QTOF/MS to characterise the differences between phenological stages, and the major metabolites were quantified using UPLC-QTOF/MS-multiple reaction monitoring (MRM).

RESULTS

At the full flowering stage, the levels of phenolic acids as well as components of the phenylpropanoid pathway were increased. Flavonoids predominated at the full flowering stage in both species. The levels of coumaric acid, kaempferol, and pectolinarigenin differed between the two species of Cirsium. Overall, these results suggest that components of the phenylpropanoid metabolic pathway are upregulated in the full flowering stage in Cirsium, although we did observe some variation between the species.

CONCLUSION

These results will help elucidate the metabolic pathways related to the different phases of the vegetative cycle, and may help determine the optimal season for the harvest of Cirsium with the highest levels of bioactive compounds. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Protective effect of cirsimaritin against streptozotocin-induced apoptosis in pancreatic beta cells

Objectives

Maintaining glucose homoeostasis is essential for the survival of cells. Despite the various health benefits of Korean thistle (Cirsium japonicum var. maackii), their effects on pancreatic β-cell apoptosis in type 1 diabetes mellitus and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, and experimentally investigated in this study.

Methods

The effects of C. japonicum var. maackii and its active component cirsimaritin against streptozotocin (STZ)-induced cytotoxicity were assessed in INS-1 cells. By Western blotting analysis, protein expressions related to apoptosis were evaluated. The involvement of apoptosis was also confirmed with image-based cytometric assay and caspase activity tests.

Key findings

Cirsium japonicum var. maackii extract and cirsimaritin in non-toxic concentrations improved cell viability to near normal levels and protected INS-1 cells against STZ-induced damage. In addition, cirsimaritin reduced the intracellular oxidative stress induced by STZ. Cirsimaritin effectively suppressed apoptosis in pancreatic β cells by decreasing the activation of caspase-8 and caspase-3, BID and the DNA repair protein poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and increasing anti-apoptotic BCL-2 protein expression.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates the therapeutic potential and action mechanism of cirsimaritin for the prevention and treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Discrimination of Polygonatum species and identification of novel markers using (1) H NMR- and UPLC/Q-TOF MS-based metabolite profiling

BACKGROUND

Rhizomes of Polygonatum species are commonly used as herbal supplements in Asia. They have different medicinal effects by species but have been misused and mixed owing to their similar taste and smell. Therefore accurate and reliable analytical methods to discriminate between Polygonatum species are required.

RESULTS

In this study, global and targeted metabolite profiling using (1) H nuclear magnetic resonance ((1) H NMR) spectroscopy and ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/Q-TOF MS) was applied to discriminate between different Polygonatum species. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models were used to classify and predict species of Polygonatum. Cross-validation derived from PLS-DA revealed good predictive accuracy. Polygonatum species were classified into unique patterns based on K-means clustering analysis. 4-Hydrobenzoic acid and trigonelline were identified as novel marker compounds and quantified accurately.

CONCLUSION

The results demonstrate that metabolite profiling approaches coupled with chemometric analysis can be used to classify and discriminate between different species of various herbal medicines. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Quality control of processed Crataegi Fructus and its medicinal parts by ultra high performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Crataegi Fructus, an edible food, has been used as a traditional medicine to treat diseases for many years. There is substantial evidence that multiple constituents are responsible for the beneficial effects of Crataegi Fructus. To effectively control the quality of this herbal medicine, we developed an ultra high performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry protocol to simultaneously quantify ten compounds (chlorogenic acid, procyanidin B2, l-epicatechin, glucosylvitexin, vitexin-2-O-rhamnoside, vitexin, rutin, hyperoside, isoquercitrin, and quercetin) in Crataegi Fructus. Multiple-reaction monitoring was used for the quantification in the negative mode for 8 min. This proposed method is simple, reliable, sensitive, and specific. Further, the quantification parameters, including linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, precision, reproducibility, stability, and accuracy were optimized. The quality of the processed samples of Crataegi Fructus was evaluated using this method. Additionally, the method was successfully used to distinguish the medicinal components, including peel, kernel, and flesh. The data described in this study offer valuable information for the quality control and proper use of Crataegi Fructus.