Hydrothermal Alkaline Treatment (HALT) of Foam Fractionation Concentrate Derived from PFAS-Contaminated Groundwater

While foam fractionation (FF) process has emerged as a promising technology for removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) from contaminated groundwater, management of the resulting foam concentrates with elevated concentrations of PFASs (e.g., >1 g/L) remains a challenge. Here, we applied hydrothermal alkaline treatment (HALT) to two foam concentrates derived from FF field demonstration projects that treated aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF)-impacted groundwater. Results showed >90% degradation and defluorination within 90 min of treatment (350 °C, 1 M NaOH) of all 62 PFASs (including cations, anions, and zwitterions) identified in foam concentrates. Observed rate constants for degradation of individual perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSAs, CnF2n+1-SO3-), the most recalcitrant class of PFASs, in both foam concentrates were similar to values measured previously in other aqueous matrices, indicating that elevated initial PFAS concentrations (e.g., PFHxSinit = 0.55 g/L), dissolved organic carbon (DOC; up to 4.5 g/L), and salt levels (e.g., up to 325 mg/L chloride) do not significantly affect PFAS reaction kinetics. DOC was partially mineralized by treatment, but a fraction (∼15%) was recalcitrant. Spectroscopic characterization revealed molecular features of the HALT-recalcitrant DOC fraction, and nontarget high-resolution mass spectrometry tentatively identified 129 nonfluorinated HALT-recalcitrant molecules. Analysis of process energy requirements shows that treating PFAS-contaminated foam concentrates with HALT would add minimally (<5%) to the overall energy requirements of an integrated FF-HALT treatment train.

UPLC-QTOF-MS-Based Metabolomics and Antioxidant Capacity of Codonopsis lanceolata from Different Geographical Origins

Codonopsis lanceolata (C. lanceolata) has been commonly utilized as a therapeutic plant in traditional medicine. In this study, we examined variations in metabolites in C. lanceolata roots grown in different regions using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS). Multivariate analysis showed that the metabolite profiles of plants grown in Hoengseong and Jeongseon were more similar to each other than to that of C. lanceolata grown in Jeju. Most primary metabolites were present at higher levels in C. lanceolata grown in Jeju. In contrast, C. lanceolata grown in Hoengseong and Jeongseon had high levels of secondary metabolites such as phenylpropanoids and triterpenoid saponins, respectively. In addition, the bioactive compound content and antioxidant capacity of in C. lanceolata grown in Hoengseong and Jeongseon were observed to be higher than those of C. lanceolata grown in Jeju. This study suggests that metabolomics is an effective approach to investigate the difference of metabolite profiling in C. lanceolata from different geographical origins, and is useful for evaluating its pharmacological potential.

Metabolite Profiling of Chestnut (Castanea crenata) According to Origin and Harvest Time Using 1H NMR Spectroscopy

Chestnuts are an important food crop commonly used as a food ingredient due to their nutritional properties and potential health benefits. In Korea, chestnuts have been crossbred to develop cultivars with insect resistance and high productivity, producing multiple chestnut varieties. This study classified 17 Castanea crenata cultivars produced in Korea according to origin and harvest time and determined the metabolites in chestnut kernels using ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The 17 C. crenata cultivars were divided into four groups based on their geographic origin: Korean native, Korean hybrid, Japanese native, and Japanese hybrid. The cultivars were also divided into three groups depending on their harvest period: early-ripening cultivar, mid-ripening cultivar, and late-ripening cultivar. The partial least squares-discriminant analysis score plot revealed differences among the groups. Identified metabolites, including amino acids, organic acids, and sugars, contributed to discriminating the origin and harvest time of the C. crenata chestnut kernels. Significant differences were observed, mainly in amino acids, which suggests that the composition of amino acids is one factor influenced by both the origin and harvest time of C. crenata. These results are useful to both growers and breeders because they identify the nutritional and metabolic characteristics of each C. crenata cultivar.

Docking Analysis of Some Bioactive Compounds from Traditional Plants against SARS-CoV-2 Target Proteins

COVID-19 is still a global pandemic that has not been stopped. Many traditional medicines have been demonstrated to be incredibly helpful for treating COVID-19 patients while fighting the disease worldwide. We introduced 10 bioactive compounds derived from traditional medicinal plants and assessed their potential for inhibiting viral spike protein (S-protein), Papain-like protease (PLpro), and RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) using molecular docking protocols where we simulate the inhibitors bound to target proteins in various poses and at different known binding sites using Autodock version 4.0 and Chimera 1.8.1 software. Results found that the chicoric acid, quinine, and withaferin A ligand strongly inhibited CoV-2 S -protein with a binding energy of -8.63, -7.85, and -7.85 kcal/mol, respectively. Our modeling work also suggested that curcumin, quinine, and demothoxycurcumin exhibited high binding affinity toward RdRp with a binding energy of -7.80, -7.80, and -7.64 kcal/mol, respectively. The other ligands, namely chicoric acid, demothoxycurcumin, and curcumin express high binding energy than the other tested ligands docked to PLpro with -7.62, -6.81, and -6.70 kcal/mol, respectively. Prediction of drug-likeness properties revealed that all tested ligands have no violations to Lipinski's Rule of Five except cepharanthine, chicoric acid, and theaflavin. Regarding the pharmacokinetic behavior, all ligand predicted to have high GI-absorption except chicoric acid and theaflavin. At the same way chicoric acid, withaferin A, and withanolide D predicted to be substrate for multidrug resistance protein (P-gp substrate). Caffeic acid, cepharanthine, chicoric acid, withaferin A, and withanolide D also have no inhibitory effect on any cytochrome P450 enzymes. Promisingly, chicoric acid, quinine, curcumin, and demothoxycurcumin exhibited high binding affinity on SARS-CoV-2 target proteins and expressed good drug-likeness and pharmacokinetic properties. Further research is required to investigate the potential uses of these compounds in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2.

NMR technique and methodology in botanical health product analysis and quality control

Botanicals have played an important role in maintaining human health and well-being throughout history. During the past few decades in particular, the use of botanical health products has gained more popularity. Whereas, quality, safety and efficacy concerns have continuously been critical issues due to the intrinsic chemical complexity of botanicals. Chemical analytical technologies play an imperative role in addressing these issues. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has proven to be a powerful and useful tool for the investigation of botanical health products. In this review, NMR techniques and methodologies that have been successfully applied to the research and development of botanical health products in all stages, from plants to products, are discussed and summarized. Furthermore, applications of NMR together with other analytical techniques in a variety of domains of botanical health products investigation, such as plant species differentiation, adulteration detection, and bio-activity evaluation, are discussed and illustrated with typical examples. This article provides an overview of the potential uses of NMR techniques and methodologies in an attempt to further promote their recognition and utilization in the field of botanical health products analysis and quality control.

Metabolite Fingerprinting Using 1H-NMR Spectroscopy and Chemometrics for Classification of Three Curcuma Species from Different Origins

Curcuma longa, Curcuma xanthorrhiza, and Curcuma manga have been widely used for herbal or traditional medicine purposes. It was reported that turmeric plants provided several biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotector, cardioprotector, and anticancer activities. Authentication of the Curcuma species is important to ensure its authenticity and to avoid adulteration practices. Plants from different origins will have different metabolite compositions because metabolites are affected by soil nutrition, climate, temperature, and humidity. 1H-NMR spectroscopy, principal component analysis (PCA), and orthogonal projections to latent structures-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were used for authentication of C. longa, C. xanthorrhiza, and C. manga from seven different origins in Indonesia. From the 1H-NMR analysis it was obtained that 14 metabolites were responsible for generating classification model such as curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, alanine, methionine, threonine, lysine, alpha-glucose, beta-glucose, sucrose, alpha-fructose, beta-fructose, fumaric acid, tyrosine, and formate. Both PCA and OPLS-DA model demonstrated goodness of fit (R2 value more than 0.8) and good predictivity (Q2 value more than 0.45). All OPLS-DA models were validated by assessing the permutation test results with high value of original R2 and Q2. It can be concluded that metabolite fingerprinting using 1H-NMR spectroscopy and chemometrics provide a powerful tool for authentication of herbal and medicinal plants.

Applicability of high-resolution NMR in combination with chemometrics for the compositional analysis and quality control of spices and plant-derived condiments

Over the last years, the consumption of spices and plant-derived condiments has increased considerably, owing to new culinary trends. Unfortunately, the current marketing channels make them highly vulnerable to adulteration and food fraud. High-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a powerful tool for the compositional study of spices and plant-derived condiments. It allows the chemical characterization of a wide range of polar and non-polar metabolites, and provides unique structural information not available by other techniques. The chemometric-based analysis of NMR 'fingerprints' has been used to discriminate samples according to species and geographical origin and to detect adulterations, among other applications. The comprehensive identification and quantification of marker compounds can be achieved even in complex mixtures, demonstrating a great potential for high-throughtput quality control applications. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Food Profiling: Determination of the Geographical Origin of Walnuts by 1H NMR Spectroscopy Using the Polar Extract

Walnuts, with their health-promoting ingredients, are among the most popular nuts, and practicable methods for determining their geographical origin are needed to tackle food fraud. Authentic walnut samples (235, Juglans Regia L.) from different harvest years (2016-2019) and countries were analyzed by ¹H NMR spectroscopy in combination with chemometric methods to determine their geographical origin. Two sample groups were analyzed at a time with a support vector machine algorithm to obtain two-class classifier models. In total, nine two-class models were built (e.g., Germany/China, France/Germany, and USA/Switzerland), and a repeated nested cross-validation was performed. The models obtained showed high accuracies from 78.0% (±2.3%) to 96.6% (±0.6%). Furthermore, identification of potential chemical markers in the walnut extract was performed.

Metabolomic approach for rapid differentiation of Fritillaria bulbs by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry and multivariate statistical analysis

The bulbs of Fritillaria have been used for centuries as food and medicinal products in many Asian countries. Different Fritillaria species have distinct pharmacological effects despite of their similar appearances. Effective differentiation of Fritillaria species can avoid adulteration and is crucial to its clinical uses. In this paper, a hybrid method of matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry and multivariate statistical analysis was developed for the rapid and reliable differentiation of Fritillaria species for the first time. Significantly different patterns for five Fritillaria species were obtained by MALDI-MS after instant sample extractions. Different groups of Fritillaria were confidently differentiated via an orthogonal partial least square model. In addition, a metabolomic taxonomy of five Fritillaria species was obtained based on MALDI-MS data.

De novo assembly of transcriptomes, mining, and development of novel EST-SSR markers in Curcuma alismatifolia (Zingiberaceae family) through Illumina sequencing

Curcuma alismatifolia widely used as an ornamental plant in Thailand and Cambodia. This species of herbaceous perennial from the Zingiberaceae family, includes cultivars with a wide range of colours and long postharvest life, and is used as an ornamental cut flower, as a potted plant, and in exterior landscapes. For further genetic improvement, however, little genomic information and no specific molecular markers are available. The present study used Illumina sequencing and de novo transcriptome assembly of two C. alismatifolia cvs, 'Chiang Mai Pink' and 'UB Snow 701', to develop simple sequence repeat markers for genetic diversity studies. After de novo assembly, 62,105 unigenes were generated and 48,813 (78.60%) showed significant similarities versus six functional protein databases. In addition, 9,351 expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeats (EST-SSRs) were identified with a distribution frequency of 12.5% total unigenes. Out of 8,955 designed EST-SSR primers, 150 primers were selected for the development of potential molecular markers. Among these markers, 17 EST-SSR markers presented a moderate level of genetic diversity among three C. alismatifolia cultivars, one hybrid, three Curcuma, and two Zingiber species. Three different genetic groups within these species were revealed using EST-SSR markers, indicating that the markers developed in this study can be effectively applied to the population genetic analysis of Curcuma and Zingiber species. This report describes the first analysis of transcriptome data of an important ornamental ginger cultivars, also provides a valuable resource for gene discovery and marker development in the genus Curcuma.

Sensitized ZnO nanorod assemblies to detect heavy metal contaminated phytomedicines: spectroscopic and simulation studies

The immense pharmacological relevance of the herbal medicine curcumin including anti-cancer and anti-Alzheimer effects, suggests it to be a superior alternative to synthesised drugs. The diverse functionalities with minimal side effects intensify the use of curcumin not only as a dietary supplement but also as a therapeutic agent. Besides all this effectiveness, some recent literature reported the presence of deleterious heavy metal contaminants from various sources in curcumin leading to potential health hazards. In this regard, we attempt to fabricate ZnO based nanoprobes to detect metal conjugated curcumin. We have synthesized and structurally characterized the ZnO nanorods (NR). Three samples namely curcumin (pure), Zn-curcumin (non-toxic metal attached to curcumin) and Hg-curcumin (toxic heavy metal attached to curcumin) were prepared for consideration. The samples were electrochemically deposited onto ZnO surfaces and the attachment was confirmed by cyclic voltammetry experiments. Moreover, to confirm a molecular level interaction picosecond-resolved PL-quenching of ZnO NR due to Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) from donor ZnO NR to the acceptor curcumin moieties was employed. The attachment proximity of ZnO NR and curcumin moieties depends on the size of metals. First principles analysis suggests a variance of attachment sites and heavy metal Hg conjugated curcumin binds through a peripheral hydroxy group to NR. We fabricated a facile photovoltaic device consisting of ZnO NR as the working electrode with Pt counter electrode and iodide-triiodide as the electrolyte. The trend in photocurrent under visible light illumination suggests an enhancement in the case of heavy metal ions due to long range interaction and greater accumulation of charge at the active electrode. Our results provide a detailed physical insight into interfacial processes that are crucial for detecting heavy-metal attached phytomedicines and are thus expected to find vast application as sensors for the detection of selective metal contaminants.

Nuclear magnetic resonance based metabolomic differentiation of different Astragali Radix

Astragali Radix (AR) is one of the most popular herbal medicines in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Wild AR is believed to be of high quality, and substitution with cultivated AR is frequently encountered in the market. In the present study, two types of ARs (wild and cultivated) from Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. and A. membranaceus var. mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao, growing in different regions of China, were analyzed by NMR profiling coupled with multivariate analysis. Results showed that both could be differentiated successfully and cultivation patterns or growing years might have greater impact on the metabolite compositions than the variety; the metabolites responsible for the separation were identified. In addition, three extraction methods were compared and the method (M1) was used for further analysis. In M1, the extraction solvent composed of water, methanol, and chloroform in the ratio of 1 : 1 : 2 was used to obtain the aqueous methanol (upper layer) and chloroform (lower layer) fractions, respectively, showing the best separation. The differential metabolites among different methods were also revealed. Moreover, the sucrose/glucose ratio could be used as a simple index to differentiate wild and cultivated AR. Meanwhile, the changes of correlation pattern among the differential metabolites of the two varieties were found. The work demonstrated that NMR-based non-targeted profiling approach, combined with multivariate statistical analysis, can be used as a powerful tool for differentiating AR of different cultivation types or growing years.

Environmental metabolomics with data science for investigating ecosystem homeostasis

A natural ecosystem can be viewed as the interconnections between complex metabolic reactions and environments. Humans, a part of these ecosystems, and their activities strongly affect the environments. To account for human effects within ecosystems, understanding what benefits humans receive by facilitating the maintenance of environmental homeostasis is important. This review describes recent applications of several NMR approaches to the evaluation of environmental homeostasis by metabolic profiling and data science. The basic NMR strategy used to evaluate homeostasis using big data collection is similar to that used in human health studies. Sophisticated metabolomic approaches (metabolic profiling) are widely reported in the literature. Further challenges include the analysis of complex macromolecular structures, and of the compositions and interactions of plant biomass, soil humic substances, and aqueous particulate organic matter. To support the study of these topics, we also discuss sample preparation techniques and solid-state NMR approaches. Because NMR approaches can produce a number of data with high reproducibility and inter-institution compatibility, further analysis of such data using machine learning approaches is often worthwhile. We also describe methods for data pretreatment in solid-state NMR and for environmental feature extraction from heterogeneously-measured spectroscopic data by machine learning approaches.

Assessment of Genetic and Chemical Variability in Curcumae Longae Rhizoma (Curcuma longa) Based on DNA Barcoding Markers and HPLC Fingerprints

Curcumae Longae Rhizoma (Curcuma longa L.) is an important traditional Chinese medicine with multiple beneficial effects. To elucidate the genetic and chemical differences among Curcumae Longae Rhizoma samples, three DNA barcoding markers (rbcL, matK, and ITS-LSU D1/D3) and HPLC fingerprinting were employed in this study. The discriminatory power of rbcL and matK was low, as they only detected one sequence type that showed 100% similarity with more than 20 congeneric species in the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) database. In contrast, ITS-LSU D1/D3 showed sufficient discriminatory power to precisely identify all of the market samples as C. longa L. in a BLAST search as well as differentiate each sample based on 2-10 ITS-LSU D1/D3 haplotypes with intragenomic variability (mean p-distance: 0.7%, range: 0-2.6%; mean number of differences: 9.6 sites, range: 0-38 sites). HPLC fingerprinting of 13 commercial samples showed a similarity that ranged from 0.769 to 0.996, indicating that the sample quality varied. A cluster analysis based on 5 common peak areas from the HPLC chromatogram resulted in two groups. Group I included 9 samples with a relatively high chemical content, and group II contained 4 samples with a low chemical content. A Mantel test revealed a low correlation (r=0.1721, p=0.047) between genetic and chemical differences. Our findings suggest that the integrated approach of ITS-LSU D1/D3 DNA barcoding and HPLC fingerprinting provides a comprehensive, precise, and convenient method to clarify the genetic and chemical differences in Curcumae Longae Rhizoma.

Hepatic metabolic effects of Curcuma longa extract supplement in high-fructose and saturated fat fed rats

The metabolic effects of an oral supplementation with a Curcuma longa extract, at a dose nutritionally relevant with common human use, on hepatic metabolism in rats fed a high fructose and saturated fatty acid (HFS) diet was evaluated. High-resolution magic-angle spinning NMR and GC/MS in combination with multivariate analysis have been employed to characterize the NMR metabolite profiles and fatty acid composition of liver tissue respectively. The results showed a clear discrimination between HFS groups and controls involving metabolites such as glucose, glycogen, amino acids, acetate, choline, lysophosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and β-hydroxybutyrate as well as an increase of MUFAs and a decrease of n-6 and n-3 PUFAs. Although the administration of CL did not counteract deleterious effects of the HFS diet, some metabolites, namely some n-6 PUFA and n-3 PUFA, and betaine were found to increase significantly in liver samples from rats having received extract of curcuma compared to those fed the HFS diet alone. This result suggests that curcuminoids may affect the transmethylation pathway and/or osmotic regulation. CL extract supplementation in rats appears to increase some of the natural defences preventing the development of fatty liver by acting on the choline metabolism to increase fat export from the liver.

Metabolic discrimination of sea buckthorn from different Hippophaë species by 1H NMR based metabolomics

Sea buckthorn (Hippophaë; Elaeagnaceae) berries are widely consumed in traditional folk medicines, nutraceuticals, and as a source of food. The growing demand of sea buckthorn berries and morphological similarity of Hippophaë species leads to confusions, which might cause misidentification of plants used in natural products. Detailed information and comparison of the complete set of metabolites of different Hippophaë species are critical for their objective identification and quality control. Herein, the variation among seven species and seven subspecies of Hippophaë was studied using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) metabolomics combined with multivariate data analysis, and the important metabolites were quantified by quantitative ¹H NMR (qNMR) method. The results showed that different Hippophaë species can be clearly discriminated and the important interspecific discriminators, including organic acids, L-quebrachitol, and carbohydrates were identified. Statistical differences were found among most of the Hippophaë species and subspecies at the content levels of the aforementioned interspecific discriminators via qNMR and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. These findings demonstrated that ¹H NMR-based metabolomics is an applicable and effective approach for simultaneous metabolic profiling, species differentiation and quality assessment.

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.

Discriminative study of a potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivation region by measuring the stable isotope ratios of bio-elements

Compared to other foods, the use of common bio-elements to identify the geographical origin of potato remains limited. Thus, this study aimed to verify whether the cultivation regions of raw potato tubers could be determined by the stable isotope composition analysis of bio-elements. δ(13)CVPDB and δ(15)NAIR in potato were influenced by region and cultivar, whereas δ(18)OVSMOW and δ(34)SVCDT were only influenced by region (p<0.0001). A two-dimensional plot of δ(18)OVSMOW and δ(34)SVCDT effectively distinguished between high and low altitude regions, and also reliably discriminated Wanju, Haenam, and Boseong cultivars in low altitude regions. δ(34)SVCDT was the main component that was responsible for the separation of samples in the principal component analysis (eigenvector of -0.6209) and orthogonal projection to latent structure-discriminant analysis (VIP value of 1.0566). In conclusion, this study improves our understanding of how the isotope composition of potato tubers varies with respect to cultivation regions and cultivars.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy For Metabolic Profiling of Medicinal Plants and Their Products

NMR spectroscopy has multidisciplinary applications, including excellent impact in metabolomics. The analytical capacity of NMR spectroscopy provides information for easy qualitative and quantitative assessment of both endogenous and exogenous metabolites present in biological samples. The complexity of a particular metabolite and its contribution in a biological system are critically important for understanding the functional state that governs the organism's phenotypes. This review covers historical aspects of developments in the NMR field, its applications in chemical profiling, metabolomics, and quality control of plants and their derived medicines, foods, and other products. The bottlenecks of NMR in metabolic profiling are also discussed, keeping in view the future scope and further technological interventions.

Triterpene and Flavonoid Biosynthesis and Metabolic Profiling of Hairy Roots, Adventitious Roots, and Seedling Roots of Astragalus membranaceus

Astragalus membranaceus is an important traditional Chinese herb with various medical applications. Astragalosides (ASTs), calycosin, and calycosin-7-O-β-d-glucoside (CG) are the primary metabolic components in A. membranaceus roots. The dried roots of A. membranaceus have various medicinal properties. The present study aimed to investigate the expression levels of genes related to the biosynthetic pathways of ASTs, calycosin, and CG to investigate the differences between seedling roots (SRs), adventitious roots (ARs), and hairy roots (HRs) using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). qRT-PCR study revealed that the transcription level of genes involved in the AST biosynthetic pathway was lowest in ARs and showed similar patterns in HRs and SRs. Moreover, most genes involved in the synthesis of calycosin and CG exhibited the highest expression levels in SRs. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis indicated that the expression level of the genes correlated with the content of ASTs, calycosin, and CG in the three different types of roots. ASTs were the most abundant in SRs. CG accumulation was greater than calycosin accumulation in ARs and HRs, whereas the opposite was true in SRs. Additionally, 40 metabolites were identified using gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS). Principal component analysis (PCA) documented the differences among SRs, ARs, and HRs. PCA comparatively differentiated among the three samples. The results of PCA showed that HRs were distinct from ARs and SRs on the basis of the dominant amounts of sugars and clusters derived from closely similar biochemical pathways. Also, ARs had a higher concentration of phenylalanine, a precursor for the phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway, as well as CG. TCA cycle intermediates levels including succinic acid and citric acid indicated a higher amount in SRs than in the others.

Metabolic characterization of natural and cultured Ophicordyceps sinensis from different origins by 1H NMR spectroscopy

Ophicordyceps sinensis is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine and cultured mycelium is a substitute for wild O. sinensis. Metabolic profiles of wild O. sinensis from three geographical locations and cultivated mycelia derived from three origins were investigated using (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis combined with multivariate statistical analysis. A total of 56 primary metabolites were identified and quantified from O. sinensis samples. The principle component analysis (PCA) showed significant differences between natural O. sinensis and fermentation mycelia. Seven metabolites responsible for differentiation were screened out by orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). The concentrations of mannitol, trehalose, arginine, trans-4-hydroxyproline, alanine and glucitol were significantly different between wild and cultured groups. The variation in metabolic profiling among artificial mycelia was greater than that among wild O. sinensis. Furthermore, wild samples from different origins were clearly distinguished by the levels of mannitol, trehalose and some amino acids. This study indicates that (1)H NMR-based metabolomics is useful for fingerprinting and discriminating O. sinensis of different geographical regions and cultivated mycelia of different strains. The present study provided an efficient approach for investigating chemical compositions and evaluating the quality of medicine and health food derived from O. sinensis.

Chemical and biological comparison of raw and vinegar-baked Radix Bupleuri

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Radix Bupleuri (RB) is a commonly used herbal drug in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and it can be baked with vinegar to afford vinegar-baked Radix Bupleuri (VBRB), which is used in TCM for liver diseases treatment. In this study, the chemical compositions and biological effects between raw and two processed RBs by different vinegars were systematically compared.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The chemical compositions of raw and two processed RBs were analyzed by (1)H NMR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate analysis. Two different extraction procedures were used, including direct extraction and liquid-liquid partition. Then HPLC was applied to determine the changes of saikosaponin contents. In addition, their liver protective effects against CCl4 induced liver injury were also investigated, and the biochemical parameters and histopathology were measured after treatment of mice with raw RB and two processed RBs (5 g/kg/day) for 14 days.

RESULTS

Multivariate analysis showed clear differences between the raw and the two processed RBs, and the vinegar-baking process induced elevated contents of ssb1, ssb2, acetic acid, malic acid, citric acid, 5-HMF, and ligustrazine, as well as the decreased contents of ssa, ssd, sucrose, glycine, succinic acid etc. In addition, both raw and processed RBs showed liver protective effects against CCl4 induced liver injury, and the vinegar-baked RBs showed better effects than that of raw RB.

CONCLUSIONS

The raw and vinegar-baked RBs differed not only in the chemical compositions but also in the pharmacological effects. And two processed RBs also showed chemical differences, suggesting that the type of vinegar had an important effect on vinegar baking. In order to ensure the therapeutic effect and safety of TCM, the effect of different vinegars on processing of herbal drugs should be further studied.

Metabolite Profiling of the Response of Burdock Roots to Copper Stress

Arctium lappa L. (Asteraceae), also known as burdock, has a long history of cultivation as a dietary vegetable worldwide. Stress in plants disrupts metabolic homeostasis and requires adjustment of metabolic pathways. Exposure to heavy metals is one of the most prevalent environmental stresses encountered by plants. In this study, metabolite profiling based on ¹H NMR and GC-MS was used to obtain a holistic view of the response of burdock roots to copper stress. The principal component analysis model generated from the NMR data showed significant separation between groups. Copper-treated burdock roots were characterized by increased levels of phenols and decreased levels of primary metabolites. These results suggest that copper stress leads to activation of the phenylpropanoid pathway and growth inhibition. GC-MS analyses revealed increased levels of unsaturated fatty acids and decreased levels of sterols in the copper-treated group. Changes in metabolite concentrations were analyzed by UPLC/QTRAP-MS, and the significances were confirmed by two-way analysis of variance and Bonferroni's test. Interestingly, linoleic acid was increased about 2.7-fold, from 316 ± 64.5 to 855 ± 111 ppm, in the group treated with copper for 6 days. This study demonstrates that metabolomic profiling is an effective analytical approach to understanding the metabolic pathway(s) associated with copper stress in burdock roots.

Secondary metabolite profiling of Curcuma species grown at different locations using GC/TOF and UPLC/Q-TOF MS

Curcuma, a genus of rhizomatous herbaceous species, has been used as a spice, traditional medicine, and natural dye. In this study, the metabolite profile of Curcuma extracts was determined using gas chromatography-time of flight mass spectrometry (GC/TOF MS) and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/Q-TOF MS) to characterize differences between Curcuma aromatica and Curcuma longa grown on the Jeju-do or Jin-do islands, South Korea. Previous studies have performed primary metabolite profiling of Curcuma species grown in different regions using NMR-based metabolomics. This study focused on profiling of secondary metabolites from the hexane extract of Curcuma species. Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) plots showed significant differences between the C. aromatica and C. longa metabolite profiles, whereas geographical location had little effect. A t-test was performed to identify statistically significant metabolites, such as terpenoids. Additionally, targeted profiling using UPLC/Q-TOF MS showed that the concentration of curcuminoids differed depending on the plant origin. Based on these results, a combination of GC- and LC-MS allowed us to analyze curcuminoids and terpenoids, the typical bioactive compounds of Curcuma, which can be used to discriminate Curcuma samples according to species or geographical origin.

Metabolic discrimination of Swertia mussotii and Swertia chirayita known as "Zangyinchen" in traditional Tibetan medicine by (1)H NMR-based metabolomics

Swertia mussotii Franch. and Swertia chirayita Buch.-Ham. have been commonly used under the same name "Zangyinchen" for the treatment of liver and gallbladder diseases in traditional Tibetan medicine. Detailed characterization and comparison of the complete set of metabolites of these two species are critical for their objective identification and quality control. In this study, a rapid, simple and comprehensive (1)H NMR-based metabolomics method was first developed to differentiate the two species. A broad range of metabolites, including iridoid glycosides, xanthones, triterpenoids, flavonoids, carbohydrates, and amino acids, were identified. Statistical analysis showed evident differences between the two species, and the major markers responsible for the differences were screened. In addition, quantitative (1)H NMR method (qHNMR) was used for the target analysis of the discriminating metabolites. The results showed that S. mussotii had significantly higher contents of gentiopicrin, isoorientin, glucose, loganic acid, and choline, whereas S. chirayita exhibited higher levels of swertiamarin, oleanolic acid, valine, and fatty acids. These findings indicate that (1)H NMR-based metabolomics is a reliable and effective method for the metabolic profiling and discrimination of the two Swertia species, and can be used to verify the genuine origin of Zangyinchen.

Integrated analysis of seaweed components during seasonal fluctuation by data mining across heterogeneous chemical measurements with network visualization

Biological information is intricately intertwined with several factors. Therefore, comprehensive analytical methods such as integrated data analysis, combining several data measurements, are required. In this study, we describe a method of data preprocessing that can perform comprehensively integrated analysis based on a variety of multimeasurement of organic and inorganic chemical data from Sargassum fusiforme and explore the concealed biological information by statistical analyses with integrated data. Chemical components including polar and semipolar metabolites, minerals, major elemental and isotopic ratio, and thermal decompositional data were measured as environmentally responsive biological data in the seasonal variation. The obtained spectral data of complex chemical components were preprocessed to isolate pure peaks by removing noise and separating overlapping signals using the multivariate curve resolution alternating least-squares method before integrated analyses. By the input of these preprocessed multimeasurement chemical data, principal component analysis and self-organizing maps of integrated data showed changes in the chemical compositions during the mature stage and identified trends in seasonal variation. Correlation network analysis revealed multiple relationships between organic and inorganic components. Moreover, in terms of the relationship between metal group and metabolites, the results of structural equation modeling suggest that the structure of alginic acid changes during the growth of S. fusiforme, which affects its metal binding ability. This integrated analytical approach using a variety of chemical data can be developed for practical applications to obtain new biochemical knowledge including genetic and environmental information.