Study on changes in pigment composition during the blooming period of safflower based on plant metabolomics and semi-quantitative analysis

Mechanisms affecting the biopharmacological properties of saffron active ingredients based on anti-inflammatory activity

To explore the mechanisms affecting the biopharmacological properties of the active components of saffron. Ultrasonic extraction technique was applied to extract the active components from safflower materials and combined with molecular docking technique to screen four safflower anti-inflammatory active components, naiophenol-3-0-rutinoside, kaempferol-3-O-glucoside, quercetin and lignan. In order to understand the mechanism of the influence of its biopharmaceutical properties, the changes of the solubility and permeability parameters of the anti-inflammatory active components of safflower were obtained by using the classical shaking bottle method and the body enteric irrigation method. The compound environment had a great influence on the solubility of single active ingredient. The calculated results of the dose number of all ingredients were greater than 1, and the solubility properties were all high solubility. The absorption parameters and osmotic coefficients of kaempferol-3-O-glucoside and lignan varied insignificantly under different concentration conditions, while each osmotic coefficient of kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside and quercetin showed a positive proportional decreasing trend. In addition, the osmotic coefficients of the three components except kaempferol-3-O-glucoside did not change with environmental changes, and the overall anti-inflammatory active ingredient absorption mechanisms included both passive diffusion and active transport. The two biopharmaceutical properties of the solubility and permeability of the active ingredients of Safflower can be changed under the influence of the application environment and drug concentration. In the pharmaceutical process, the preparation means can be optimized from this aspect to achieve the purpose of improving the clinical efficacy of Safflower anti-inflammatory drugs.

Integrated Proteomics and Metabolomics of Safflower Petal Wilting and Seed Development

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is an ancient oilseed crop of interest due to its diversity of end-use industrial and food products. Proteomic and metabolomic profiling of its organs during seed development, which can provide further insights on seed quality attributes to assist in variety and product development, has not yet been undertaken. In this study, an integrated proteome and metabolic analysis have shown a high complexity of lipophilic proteins and metabolites differentially expressed across organs and tissues during seed development and petal wilting. We demonstrated that these approaches successfully discriminated safflower reproductive organs and developmental stages with the identification of 2179 unique compounds and 3043 peptides matching 724 unique proteins. A comparison between cotyledon and husk tissues revealed the complementarity of using both technologies, with husks mostly featuring metabolites (99%), while cotyledons predominantly yielded peptides (90%). This provided a more complete picture of mechanisms discriminating the seed envelope from what it protected. Furthermore, we showed distinct molecular signatures of petal wilting and colour transition, seed growth, and maturation. We revealed the molecular makeup shift occurring during petal colour transition and wilting, as well as the importance of benzenoids, phenylpropanoids, flavonoids, and pigments. Finally, our study emphasizes that the biochemical mechanisms implicated in the growing and maturing of safflower seeds are complex and far-reaching, as evidenced by AraCyc, PaintOmics, and MetaboAnalyst mapping capabilities. This study provides a new resource for functional knowledge of safflower seed and potentially further enables the precision development of novel products and safflower varieties with biotechnology and molecular farming applications.

Distinct Effects of Seed Coat and Flower Colors on Metabolite Contents and Antioxidant Activities in Safflower Seeds

Safflower is an important oilseed crop cultivated primarily for its seeds, which have pharmaceutical properties. Color is an important agronomical trait that appears to be a prior parameter for evaluating the internal quality of plant seeds. This study employs 197 safflower accessions seeds to analyze how their seed coat and flower colors affect their total oil content, fatty acid composition, total phenolic content (TPC), N-(p-coumaroyl)serotonin (CS) and N-feruloylserotonin (FS) contents, and [2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS)] radical scavenging activities. Significant variations were observed in the targeted metabolite contents and antioxidant properties among genotypes. Notably, the linoleic acid content, total unsaturated fatty acid content, the ratio of total unsaturated fatty acid to total saturated fatty acid, CS, FS, ABTS, and DPPH scavenging capacities varied significantly based on seed coat color, with white-seeded genotypes having the highest average values of these parameters. Moreover, the linoleic acid content differed significantly (p < 0.05) among the genotypes with varying flower colors, with white-flowered accessions having the highest average content. Furthermore, genotypes K185105 (No. 75) and K175278 (No. 146) were identified as promising genetic resources with health benefits. Overall, these findings reveal that seed coat and flower colors distinctly affect metabolite contents and antioxidant properties in safflower seeds.

Volatile Compositions of Panax ginseng and Panax quinquifolium Grown for Different Cultivation Years

The present study examined the volatile profiles of Panax ginseng (Korean ginseng) and Panax quinquefolium (American ginseng) grown for different cultivation years by using HS-SPME/GC-MS and determined the key discriminant volatile compounds by chemometric analysis including principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and partial least squares-discrimination analysis (PLS-DA). Fifty-six compounds, including forty terpenes, eight alcohols, one alkane, one ketone, and one furan, were identified in the ginseng roots. The chemometric results identified two major clusters of American ginseng and Korean ginseng cultivars with distinct volatile compositions. The volatile compounds in fresh white ginseng roots were affected by the species, but the influence of different cultivation ages was ambiguous. The major volatile components of ginseng roots are terpenes, including monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. In particular, panaginsene, ginsinsene, α-isocomene, and caryophyllene were predominant in Korean ginseng cultivars, whereas β-farnesene levels were higher in American ginseng. The difference in volatile patterns between Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolium could be attributed to the composition of sesquiterpenes such as β-panaginsene, ginsinsene, caryophyllene, and β-farnesene.

Composition of major quinochalcone hydroxysafflor yellow A and anhydrosafflor yellow B is associated with colour of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) during colour-transition but not with overall antioxidant capacity: A study on 144 cultivars

Yellow pigments in the water-extract of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) belong to quinochalcone flavonoid family and are widely used as food colourants. The aim of the study was to characterize the main quinochalcone compounds in safflower water-extract during blooming period when floret changed colour. Mass-spectrometry results showed that hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) and anhydrosafflor yellow B (AHSYB) were the most abundant. Based on 370 florets samples collected from 144 cultivars, the contents of HSYA and AHSYB were determined, which showed that only AHSYB content had relatively strong positive association with colour indexes. The ratio of HSYA/AHSYB and visual colour exhibited certain patterns: yellow = 2, orange = 3-4, red = more dispersed, mostly falling 5-6. Most of the florets had HSYA increased first and decreased, while AHSYB decreased all the time when floret changed colour as yellow → orange → red. Regardless of the composition of HSYA/AHSYB in florets, the antioxidant capacities of safflower petal water-extracts were the same.

Integrated metabolomics and transcriptome analysis on flavonoid biosynthesis in flowers of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) during colour-transition

Background

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.), well known for its flower, is widely used as a dye and traditional Chinese medicine. Flavonoids, especially flavonoid glycosides, are the main pigments and active components. However, their biosynthesis is largely unknown. Interestingly, the colour of flowers in safflower changed from yellow to red during flower development, while much of the gene and chemical bases during colour transition are unclear.

Methods

In this research, widely targeted metabolomics and transcriptomics were used to elucidate the changes in flavonoid biosynthesis from the gene and chemical points of view in flowers of safflower during colour transition. The screening of differential metabolites depended on fold change and variable importance in project (VIP) value. Differential expressed genes (DEGs) were screened by DESeq2 method. RT-PCR was used to analyse relative expressions of DEGs.

Results

A total of 212 flavonoid metabolites, including hydroxysafflor yellow A, carthamin and anthocyanins, were detected and showed a large difference. The candidate genes of glycosyltransferases and flavonoid hydroxylase that might participate in flavonoid glycoside biosynthesis were screened. Ten candidate genes were screened. Through integrated metabolomics and transcriptome analysis, a uridine diphosphate glucose glycosyltransferase gene, CtUGT9 showed a significant correlation with flavonoid glycosides in safflower. In addition, expression analysis showed that CtUGT9 was mainly expressed in the middle development of flowers and was significantly upregulated under MeJA treatment. Our results indicated that CtUGT9 might play an important role in flavonoid glycoside biosynthesis during colour-transition in safflower.

Comparative analysis in different organs and tissue-specific metabolite profiling of Atractylodes lancea from four regions by GC-MS and laser microdissection

Traditional Chinese medicine is made from the rhizome of Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC. (Compositae), known as Cangzhu. In this study, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to identify and quantify the volatile oils of different organs of A. lancea from four regions of China: Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, and Hubei provinces. The volatile oils of A. lancea were qualitatively and quantitatively characterized using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with laser microdissection. The results identified 21 components in A. lancea, the majority of the components were found in the rhizomes, followed by the fibrous roots, flowers, leaves, and stems. According to the contents of volatile oils in A. lancea, it was divided into Dabieshan (mainly includes hinesol and β-eudesmol) and Maoshan types (mainly includes atractylon and atractylodin), and the ratios of hinesol:β-eudesmol:atractylon:atractylodin were 17.06:4.55:0:1, 12.66:11.71:0.99:1, 7.43:6.23:0:1, and 0.13:0.16:1.52:1 in A. lancea from AH, HN, HB, and JS, respectively. Tissue-specific study indicated that Dabieshan type mainly includes elemol, hinesol, and β-eudesmol in the periderm and secretory cavities of A. lancea, whereas Maoshan type mainly includes atractylon, atractylodin, little hinesol, and β-eudesmol in the secretory cavities. Conversely, no volatile oils were detected in the cortex, phloem, xylem, vascular ray, or pith. This study provides a foundation for further evaluation and utilization of A. lancea.