Tracing the mass flow from glucose and phenylalanine to pinoresinol and its glycosides in Phomopsis sp. XP-8 using stable isotope assisted TOF-MS

Non-targeted metabolomics and explainable artificial intelligence: Effects of processing and color on coniferyl aldehyde levels in Eucommiae cortex

Eucommia ulmoides, a plant native to China, is valued for its medicinal properties and has applications in food, health products, and traditional Chinese medicine. Processed Eucommiae Cortex (EC) has historically been a highly valued medicine. Ancient doctors had ample experience processing EC, especially with ginger juice, as documented in traditional Chinese medical texts. The combination of EC and ginger juice helps release and transform the active ingredients, strengthening the medicine's effectiveness and improving its taste and shelf life. However, the lack of quality control standards for Ginger-Eucommiae Cortex (G-EC), processed from EC and ginger, presents challenges for its industrial and clinical use. This study optimized G-EC processing using the CRITIC and Box-Behnken methods. Metabolomics showed 517 chemical changes between raw and processed G-EC, particularly an increase in coniferyl aldehyde (CFA). Explainable artificial intelligence techniques revealed the feasibility of using color to CFA content, providing insights into quality indicators.

Genomic-Wide Identification and Characterization of the Uridine Diphosphate Glycosyltransferase Family in Eucommia ulmoides Oliver

Eucommia ulmoides Oliver is a woody plant with great economic and medicinal value. Its dried bark has a long history of use as a traditional medicinal material in East Asia, which led to many glycosides, such as aucubin, geniposide, hyperoside, astragalin, and pinoresinol diglucoside, being recognized as pharmacologically active ingredients. Uridine diphosphate glycosyltransferases (UGTs) catalyze a glycosyl-transferring reaction from the donor molecule uridine-5'-diphosphate-glucose (UDPG) to the substrate, which plays an important role in many biological processes, such as plant growth and development, secondary metabolism, and environmental adaptation. In order to explore the biosynthetic pathways of glycosides in E. ulmoides, 91 putative EuUGT genes were identified throughout the complete genome of E. ulmoides through function annotation and an UDPGT domain search. Phylogenetic analysis categorized them into 14 groups. We also performed GO annotations on all the EuUGTs to gain insights into their functions in E. ulmoides. In addition, transcriptomic analysis indicated that most EuUGTs showed different expression patterns across diverse organs and various growing seasons. By protein-protein interaction predication, a biosynthetic routine of flavonoids and their glycosides was also proposed. Undoubtedly, these results will help in future research into the biosynthetic pathways of glycoside compounds in E. ulmoides.