From 1H NMR-based non-targeted to LC-MS-based targeted metabolomics strategy for in-depth chemome comparisons among four Cistanche species

Revealing ecotype influences on Cistanche sinensis: from the perspective of endophytes to metabolites characteristics

Introduction

Plant microorganism is critical to plant health, adaptability, and productive forces. Intriguingly, the metabolites and microorganisms can act upon each other in a plant. The union of metabolomics and microbiome may uncover the crucial connections of the plant to its microbiome. It has important benefits for the agricultural industry and human being health, particularly for Chinese medical science investigation.

Methods

In this last 2 years study, on the strength of the UPLC-MS/MS detection platform, we accurately qualitatively, and quantitatively measured the Cistanche sinensis fleshy stems of two ecotypes. Thereafter, through high-throughput amplicon sequencing 16S/ITS sequences were procured.

Results

PhGs metabolites including echinacoside, isoacteoside, and cistanoside A were significantly downregulated at two ecotypes of C. sinensis. Add up to 876 metabolites were monitored and 231 differential metabolites were analyzed. Further analysis of 34 core differential metabolites showed that 15 compounds with up-regulated belonged to phenolic acids, flavonoids, and organic acids, while 19 compounds with down-regulated belonged to phenolic acids, flavonoids, alkaloids, amino acids, lipids, and nucleotides. There was no noteworthy discrepancy in the endophytic bacteria's α and β diversity between sandy and loam ecotypes. By comparison, the α and β diversity of endophytic fungi was notably distinct. The fungal community of the loam ecotype is more abundant than the sandy ecotype. However, there were few such differences in bacteria. Most abundant genera included typical endophytes such as Phyllobacterium, Mycobacterium, Cistanche, Geosmithia, and Fusarium. LEfSe results revealed there were 11 and 20 biomarkers of endophytic bacteria and fungi in C. sinensis at two ecotypes, respectively. The combination parsing of microflora and metabolites indicated noteworthy relativity between the endophytic fungal communities and metabolite output. Key correlation results that Anseongella was positive relation with Syringin, Arsenicitalea is negative relation with 7-methylxanthine and Pseudogymnoascus is completely positively correlated with nepetin-7-O-alloside.

Discussion

The aim of this research is: (1) to explore firstly the influence of ecotype on C. sinensis from the perspective of endophytes and metabolites; (2) to investigate the relationship between endophytes and metabolites. This discovery advances our understanding of the interaction between endophytes and plants and provides a theoretical basis for cultivation of C. sinensis in future.

Characteristic Volatile Organic Compound Analysis of Different Cistanches Based on HS-GC-IMS

Cistanche is a medicinal and food homologous substance with a long history of consumption and medicinal use in China. In order to further understand the volatile organic compound differences between different cistanches, this study selected oil cistanche, blood cistanche and cistanche tubulosa in Xinjiang for HS-GC-IMS volatile organic compounds, and established the characteristic fingerprints of different cistanches for organic content and characteristic organic compound analysis. PCA and cluster analysis were used to study the similarity between different cistanches. After qualitative analysis, a total of 32 volatile organic compounds were identified, covering aldehydes (17), ketones (5), furans (1), alcohols (5), lactones (1) and esters (3), and the volatile organic compounds between samples a, b and c could be significantly distinguished, affecting the flavor of cistanche itself. It provides a basic theoretical basis for the study of cistanche flavor.

Integrated analysis of phytochemical composition, pharmacokinetics, and network pharmacology to probe distinctions between the stems of Cistanche deserticola and C. tubulosa based on antidepressant activity

Cistanches Herba (CH), as a nutritional and functional supplement used in food and health care products for centuries, consists of the stems of Cistanche deserticola and C. tubulosa. Our previous studies confirmed that the stems of C. tubulosa exerted advantageous antidepressant effect. However, whether the difference in the phytochemical compositions between the stems of C. deserticola and C. tubulosa would lead to diverse bioavailability and accompanying antidepressant effects remain unclear, as well as their specific bioactive compounds and underlying mechanism. In this study, a series of comparative studies showed that the antidepressant activity of C. tubulosa extract (CTE) was stronger than that of the C. deserticola extract (CDE), which was accompanied with the discovery of 10 differential markers from 52 identified compounds between CTE and CDE, and different pharmacokinetic behaviors of 9 prototype and 4 metabolites belonging to the glycosides between the CTE-treated and CDE-treated group in normal and depressive rats were simultaneously found by a validated UPLC-QTRAP-MS/MS method. Subsequently, network pharmacology prediction, in vitro and in vivo experiment verification from these differential markers further revealed that 7 compounds were confirmed to contribute to the antidepressant action of CH by inhibiting neuronal apoptosis mediated by mitochondrial function and activation of the AKT/GSK3β signaling pathway, synchronously indicating most of those, with higher bioavailability in vivo after CTE administration, that were responsible for the stronger antidepressant effect of CTE over CDE. Hence, the integrated analysis of phytochemical composition, pharmacokinetics, and network pharmacology provide new insights into the applications of CH from different botanical origins against depression.

Metabolome and Transcriptome Profiling Reveal That Four Terpenoid Hormones Dominate the Growth and Development of Sanghuangporus baumii

Sanghuangporus baumii is a traditional medicinal fungus that produces pharmacological terpenoids, but natural resources are insufficient for applications, and its growth and development mechanisms are poorly understood. Combining metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses, we found four terpenoid hormones and a central gene, isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase (IDI), involved in growth and development. Additionally, an exogenous hormone test was used to further confirm the importance of the four terpenoid hormones. Finally, hormone content determination and qRT−PCR were performed to explore the growth and development mechanism; we found thatcis-zeatin (CZ) plays a major role in the mycelia stage, trans-zeatin (TZ) and gibberellin A4 (GA4) are important in the primordia stage, GA4 is crucial for the fruiting bodies stage, and abscisic acid (ABA) may be a marker of maturity. The IDI gene was also found to affectterpenoid hormone content by regulating the relative gene transcript levels, thereby controlling morphological changes in S. baumii. Our results revealthe growth and development mechanisms of S. baumii and may promote the breeding and utilisation of high-quality varieties.

Widely Targeted Metabolomics Analysis to Reveal Transformation Mechanism of Cistanche Deserticola Active Compounds During Steaming and Drying Processes

Cistanche deserticola is one of the most precious plants, traditionally as Chinese medicine, and has recently been used in pharmaceutical and healthy food industries. Steaming and drying are two important steps in the processing of Cistanche deserticola. Unfortunately, a comprehensive understanding of the chemical composition changes of Cistanche deserticola during thermal processing is limited. In this study, ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS)-based widely targeted metabolomics analysis was used to investigate the transformation mechanism of Cistanche deserticola active compounds during steaming and drying processes. A total of 776 metabolites were identified in Cistanche deserticola during thermal processing, among which, 77 metabolites were differentially regulated (p < 0.05) wherein 39 were upregulated (UR) and 38 were downregulated (DR). Forty-seven (17 UR, 30 DR) and 30 (22 UR, 8 DR) differential metabolites were identified during steaming and drying, respectively. The most variation of the chemicals was observed during the process of steaming. Metabolic pathway analysis indicated that phenylpropanoid, flavonoid biosynthesis, and alanine metabolism were observed during steaming, while glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism, thiamine metabolism, and unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis were observed during drying. The possible mechanisms of the chemical alterations during thermal processing were also provided by the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Furthermore, the blackening of the appearance of Cistanche deserticola mainly occurred in the steaming stage rather than the drying stage, which is associated with the metabolism of the amino acids. All results indicated that the formation of active compounds during the processing of Cistanche deserticola mainly occurred in the steaming stage.

Fighting climate change: soil bacteria communities and topography play a role in plant colonization of desert areas

Global warming has exacerbated desertification in arid regions. Exploring the environmental variables and microbial communities that drive the dynamics of geographic patterns of desert crops is important for large-scale standardization of crops that can control desertification. Here, predictions based on future climate data from CMIP6 show that a steady expand in the suitable production areas for three desert plants (Cistanche deserticola, Cynomorium songaricum and Cistanche salsa) under global warming, demonstrating their high adaptability to future climate change. We examined the biogeography of three desert plant soil bacteria communities and assessed the environmental factors affecting the community assembly process. The α-diversity significantly decreased along elevated latitudes, indicating that the soil bacterial communities of the three species have latitude diversity patterns. The neutral community model evaluated 66.6% of the explained variance of the bacterial community in the soil of desert plants and Modified Stochasticity Ratio <0.5, suggesting that deterministic processes dominate the assembly of bacterial communities in three desert plants. Moreover, topography (longitude, elevation) and precipitation as well as key OTUs (OTU4911: Streptomyces eurythermus and OTU4672: Streptomyces flaveus) drive the colonization of three desert plants. This research offers a promising solution for desert management in arid areas under global warming.

Online pressurized liquid extraction enables directly chemical analysis of herbal medicines: A mini review

Extraction is responsible for transferring components from solid materials into solvent. Tedious extraction procedures are usually involved in liquid chromatography-based chemical analysis of herbal medicines (HMs), resulting in extensive consumptions of organic solvents, time, energy, and materials, as well as the significant chemical degradation risks for those labile compounds. Fortunately, an emerging online pressurized liquid extraction (OLE, also known as online liquid extraction) technique has been developed for the achievement of directly chemical analysis for solid matrices in recent years, and in a short period, this versatile technique has been widely applied for the chemical analysis of HMs. In the present mini-review, we aim to briefly summarize the principles, the instrumentation, along with the application progress of this robust and flexible extraction technique in the latest six years, and the emerging challenges and future prospects are discussed as well. Special attention is paid onto the hyphenation of the versatile OLE module with LC-MS instrument. The described information is expected to introduce a promising OLE approach and to provide the guidance for the achievement of directly chemical analysis of, but not limited to, HMs.

Metabolome profiling and molecular docking analysis revealed the metabolic differences and potential pharmacological mechanisms of the inflorescence and succulent stem of Cistanche deserticola

Cistanche deserticola is an endangered plant used for medicine and food. Our purpose is to explore the differences in metabolism between inflorescences in non-medicinal parts and succulent stems in medicinal parts in order to strengthen the application and development of the non-medicinal parts of C. deserticola. We performed metabolomics analysis through LC-ESI-MS/MS on the inflorescences and succulent stems of three ecotypes (saline-alkali land, grassland and sandy land) of C. deserticola. A total of 391 common metabolites in six groups were identified, of which isorhamnetin O-hexoside (inflorescence) and rosinidin O-hexoside (succulent stems) can be used as chemical markers to distinguish succulent stems and inflorescences. Comparing the metabolic differences of three ecotypes, we found that most of the different metabolites related to salt-alkali stress were flavonoids. In particular, we mapped the biosynthetic pathway of phenylethanoid glycosides (PhGs) and showed the metabolic differences in the six groups. To better understand the pharmacodynamic mechanisms and targets of C. deserticola, we screened 88 chemical components and 15 potential disease targets through molecular docking. The active ingredients of C. deserticola have a remarkable docking effect on the targets of aging diseases such as osteoporosis, vascular disease and atherosclerosis. To explore the use value of inflorescence, we analyzed the molecular docking of the unique flavonoid metabolites in inflorescence with inflammation targets. The results showed that chrysoeriol and cynaroside had higher scores for inflammation targets. This study provides a scientific basis for the discovery and industrialization of the resource value of the non-medicinal parts of C. deserticola, and the realization of the sustainable development of C. deserticola. It also provides a novel strategy for exploring indications of Chinese herb.

Flow chart for exploring the metabolic and pharmacological characteristics of different parts of Cistanche deserticola.

PepT1-knockout mice harbor a protective metabolome beneficial for intestinal wound healing

Genetic knockout (KO) of peptide transporter-1 (PepT1) protein is known to provide resistance to acute colitis and colitis-associated cancer (CAC) in mouse models. However, it was unclear which molecule(s) or pathway(s) formed the basis for these protective effects. Recently, we demonstrated that the PepT1^-/- microbiota is sufficient to protect against colitis and CAC. Given that PepT1 KO alters the gut microbiome and thereby changes the intestinal metabolites that are ultimately reflected in the feces, we investigated the fecal metabolites of our PepT1 KO mice. Using a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based untargeted-metabolomics technique, we found that the fecal metabolites were significantly different between the KO and normal wild-type (WT) mice. Among the altered fecal metabolites, tuberonic acid (TA) was sevenfold higher in KO mouse feces than in WT mouse feces. Accordingly, we studied whether the increased TA could direct an anti-inflammatory effect. Using in vitro models, we discovered that TA not only prevented lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in macrophages but also improved the epithelial cell healing processes. Our results suggest that TA, and possibly other fecal metabolites, play a crucial role in the pathway(s) associated with the anticolitis effects of PepT1 KO.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Fecal metabolites were significantly different between the KO and normal wild-type (WT) mice. One fecal metabolite, tuberonic acid (TA), was sevenfold higher in KO mouse feces than in WT mouse feces. TA prevented lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in macrophages and improved the epithelial cell healing process.

Herba Cistanche (Rou Cong Rong): A Review of Its Phytochemistry and Pharmacology

Herba Cistanche, known as Rou Cong Rong in Chinese, is a very valuable Chinese herbal medicine that has been recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Rou Cong Rong has been extensively used in clinical practice in traditional herbal formulations and has also been widely used as a health food supplement for a long time in Asian countries such as China and Japan. There are many bioactive compounds in Rou Cong Rong, the most important of which are phenylethanoid glycosides. This article summarizes the up-to-date information regarding the phytochemistry, pharmacology, processing, toxicity and safety of Rou Cong Rong to reveal its pharmacodynamic basis and potential therapeutic effects, which could be of great value for its use in future research.

Cistanches Herba, from an endangered species to a big brand of Chinese medicine

Cistanches Herba (CH, Chinese name: Roucongrong), is a very precious, tonic Chinese medicine. Cistanche deserticola and Cistanche tubulosa are the two commonly used species and authenticated in Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Due to the parasitic nature of Cistanche plants, the wild source was once endangered and listed in the Appendix II of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. However, after continuously struggling in the past decades, CH has grown up to a big brand of Chinese medicine featured with the cultivation area as 1.26 million mu, the annual output as 6000 tons, and the related industrial output value as more than 20 billion China Yuan, attributing to large-scale cultivation and in-depth phytochemical and pharmacological investigations. Noteworthily, great achievements have reached concerning the research and development of relevant products, such as modern drugs, traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions, and dietary supplements. The current review summarizes the research progresses concerning the distribution and cultivation, phytochemistry, pharmacology, metabolism and product development of CH in the past decades, and the emerging challenges and developing prospects are discussed as well.

Revealing the Impact of the Environment on Cistanche salsa: From Global Ecological Regionalization to Soil Microbial Community Characteristics

To understand the regulatory relationship between the environment and Cistanche salsa, here we integrated the macro- and microdimension methods. From a macroperspective, the MaxEnt model indicated that countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, such as China, Egypt, and Libya, were particularly suitable for growth of C. salsa from ancient times (Last Glacial Maximum and mid-Holocene) to the future (2050 and 2070). The Jackknife test revealed that precipitation is an important ecological factor that affects C. salsa's distribution. From a microperspective, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing data showed that the soil microbial communities of three ecotypes (desert-steppe, grassland, and gravel-desert) were significantly different (p < 0.001). Core microbiome analysis demonstrated that the bacterial genera Arthrobacter, Sphingomonas, and Bacillus were enriched core taxa of C. salsa. LEfSe and random forest were used to excavate the Gillisia (desert-steppe), Flavisolibacter (grassland), and Variibacter (gravel-desert) as biomarkers that can distinguish among microbial communities from the three ecotypes. The prediction profile showed that the metabolic function of the microbial community was enriched in metabolic pathways and environmental information processing. Correlation analyses revealed that the altitude, precipitation of the warmest quarter (bio18), mean diurnal range (bio2), and mean temperature of the warmest quarter (bio10) were important ecological factors that affect the composition of soil microbial communities. This work provided new insights into the regulatory relationship among the suitable distribution of C. salsa, soil microbial communities, and ecological drivers. Moreover, it deepened the understanding of the interaction between desert plants and ecological factors in arid environments.

Regulatory relationship between quality variation and environment of Cistanche deserticola in three ecotypes based on soil microbiome analysis

The environment affects the composition and function of soil microbiome, which indirectly influences the quality of plants. In this study, 16S amplicon sequencing was used to reveal the differences in soil microbial community composition of Cistanche deserticola in three ecotypes (saline-alkali land, grassland and sandy land). Through the correlation analysis of microbial community abundance, phenylethanoid glycoside contents and ecological factors, the regulatory relationship between microbial community and the quality variation of C. deserticola was expounded. The metabolic function profile of soil microbiome was predicted using Tax4Fun. Data showed that the soil microbial communities of the three ecotypes were significantly different (AMOVA, P < 0.001), and the alpha diversity of grassland soil microbial community was the highest. Core microbiome analysis demonstrated that the soil microbial communities of C. deserticola were mostly have drought, salt tolerance, alkali resistance and stress resistance, such as Micrococcales and Bacillales. The biomarkers, namely, Oceanospirillales (saline-alkali land), Sphingomonadales (grassland) and Propionibacteriales (sandy land), which can distinguish three ecotype microbial communities, were excavated through LEfSe and random forest. Correlation analysis results demonstrated that 2'-acetylacteoside is positively correlated with Oceanospirillales in saline-alkali land soil. The metabolic function profiles displayed highly enriched metabolism (carbohydrate and amino acid metabolisms) and environmental information processing (membrane transport and signal transduction) pathways. Overall, the composition and function of soil microbiomes were found to be important factors to the quality variation of C. deserticola in different ecotypes. This work provided new insight into the regulatory relationship amongst the environment, soil microbial community and plant quality variation.

Metabolome and transcriptome profiling reveals quality variation and underlying regulation of three ecotypes for Cistanche deserticola

Cistanche deserticola is a plant used both as food and medicine. We are interested in understanding how C. deserticola responds to environmental conditions. Samples were collected from three ecotypes grown in saline-alkali land, grassland and sandy land. Transcriptome and metabolome analysis were performed by using RNA-seq and LC-ESI-MS/MS. Among 578 metabolites identified, 218, 209 and 215 compounds were found differentially produced among the three ecotypes. Particularly, 2'-acetylacteoside, belonging to phenylethanoid glycosides (PhGs) is the most significantly differentially produced with a VIP > 0.5 and fold change > 2, representing a potential chemical marker to distinguish the three ecotypes. RNA-Seq analysis revealed 52,043 unigenes, and 947, 632 and 97 of them were found differentially expressed among the three ecotypes. Analysis of the correlation between the metabolome profiles and transcriptome profiles among three ecotypes identified that the 12 key genes related to PhGs biosynthesis were differentially expressed. Particularly, the expression of PAL, ALDH and GOT genes were significantly up-regulated in saline-alkali land compared to the other two. In summary, we found PhGs content was higher in saline-alkali land compared with other ecotypes. This is likely due to the up-regulation of the PhGs biosynthetic genes in response to the saline-alkali conditions.

UFLC-PDA-MS/MS Profiling of Seven Uncaria Species Integrated with Melatonin/5-Hydroxytryptamine Receptors Agonistic Assay

Uncariae Ramulus Cum Uncis (Gou-Teng), the dried hook-bearing stems of several Uncaria plants (Rubiaceae), is a well-known herbal medicine in China. The clinical application of Gou-Teng is bewildered for the morphological and chemical similarity between different species. In order to discern their chemical and biological difference, an ultra-fast liquid chromatography equipped with ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UFLC-IT/TOF-MS) combining with melatonin (MT1 and MT2) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT1A and 5-HT2C) receptors agonistic assay in vitro was conducted on seven Uncaria species. As a result, 57 compounds including 35 indole alkaloids, ten flavonoids, five triterpenoids, five chlorogenic analogues, and two other compounds were characterized based on their MS/MS patterns and UV absorptions. Specifically, cadambine-type and corynanthein-type alkaloids were exclusively present in U.rhynchophylla and U.scandens, whereas corynoxine-type alkaloids were commonly detected in all the seven Uncaria plants. Three Uncaria species, U. rhynchophylla, U. macrophylla, and U. yunnanensis showed obviously agnostic activity on four neurotransmitter receptors (MT1, MT2, 5-HT1A, and 5-HT2C). This first-time UFLCMS-IT-TOF analyses integrated with biological assay on seven Uncaria plants will provide scientific viewpoints for the clinical application of Gou-Teng.

A Review of Biologically Active Natural Products from a Desert Plant Cistanche tubulosa

An Orobanchaceae plant Cistanche tubulosa (SCHENK) WIGHT (Kanka-nikujuyou in Japanese), which is one of the authorized plant resources as Cistanches Herba in both Japanese and Chinese Pharmacopoeias, is a perennial parasitic plant growing on roots of sand-fixing plants. The stems of C. tubulosa have traditionally been used for treatment of impotence, sterility, lumbago, and body weakness as well as a promoting agent of blood circulation. In recent years, Cistanches Herba has also been widely used as a health food supplement in Japan, China, and Southeast Asian countries. Here we review our recent studies on chemical constituents from the stems of C. tubulosa as well as their bioactivities such as vasorelaxtant, hepatoprotective, and glucose tolerance improving effects.

Simultaneous Profiling and Holistic Comparison of the Metabolomes among the Flower Buds of Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, and Panax notoginseng by UHPLC/IM-QTOF-HDMSE-Based Metabolomics Analysis

The flower buds of three Panax species (PGF: flower bud of P. ginseng; PQF: flower bud of P. quinquefolius; PNF: flower bud of P. notoginseng), widely consumed as healthcare products, are easily confused particularly in the extracts or traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulae. We are aimed to develop an untargeted metabolomics approach, by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/ion mobility-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC/IM-QTOF-MS) to unveil the chemical markers diagnostic for the differentiation of PGF, PQF, and PNF. Key parameters affecting chromatographic separation and MS detection were optimized in sequence. Forty-two batches of flower bud samples were analyzed in negative high-definition MS^E (HDMS^E; enabling three-dimensional separations). Efficient metabolomics data processing was performed by Progenesis QI (Waters, Milford, MA, USA), while pattern-recognition chemometrics was applied for species classification and potential markers discovery. Reference compounds comparison, analysis of both HDMS^E and targeted MS/MS data, and retrieval of an in-house ginsenoside library, were simultaneously utilized for the identification of discovered potential markers. Satisfactory conditions for metabolite profiling were achieved on a BEH Shield RP18 column and Vion™ IMS-QTOF instrument (Waters; by setting the capillary voltage of 1.0 kV and the cone of voltage 20 V) within 37 min. A total of 32 components were identified as the potential markers, of which Rb3, Ra1, isomer of m-Rc/m-Rb2/m-Rb3, isomer of Ra1/Ra2, Rb1, and isomer of Ra3, were the most important for differentiating among PGF, PQF, and PNF. Conclusively, UHPLC/IM-QTOF-MS-based metabolomics is a powerful tool for the authentication of TCM at the metabolome level.