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

Acute and Subchronic Toxicological Study of the Cocktail Extract from Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb, Phyllanthus niruri L. and Morinda citrifolia L

Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb, Phyllanthus niruri L., and Morinda citrifolia L. are Indonesian medicinal herbs used empirically as traditional therapeutics for maintaining health. The cocktail extract of these three plants (CECPM) had been developed and demonstrated immunostimulant activity in rats. This study aimed to evaluate the acute and subchronic toxicity of CECPM in vivo. The acute toxicity assay was conducted by orally administering a range dose of CECPM (313, 625, 1250, 2500, or 5000 mg/kg body weight (bw) on female mice once and then evaluating the toxic symptom every day for 14 days later. The chronic toxicity test was carried out by giving various doses of CECPM (600, 800, and 1000 mg/kg·bw) to female and male rats orally continuously for 90 consecutive days. The signs of toxicities were evaluated at the 90- and 28 days postadministration. The acute oral toxicity assays showed that there was no toxic syndrome and mortality found during the period of the experiment. The lethal dose level (LD50) of CECPM was more than 5000 g/kg, which was categorized as practically non-toxic. Meanwhile, in the sub-chronic toxicity study, some parameters tested at 90 days postadministration and after 28 days of withdrawal, such as the body weight, relative organ weight, food intake, hematological and biochemical blood parameters, and also histopathological examination of five primary tissues (heart, liver, kidney, spleen, and lung) revealed no abnormalities. There was no-observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) for the present study of CECPM 1000 mg/kg·bw of the rat. Therefore, it is concluded that the orally administered CECPM was relatively nontoxic during acute and subchronic toxicology studies.

Maximizing Curcuminoid Extraction from Curcuma aromatica Salisb. Rhizomes via Environmentally Friendly Microwave-Assisted Extraction Technique Using Full Factorial Design

Curcuma aromatica Salisb. contains a high content of curcuminoids, which can be utilized for cosmetic purposes. The objective of this study was to optimize the extraction conditions of C. aromatica rhizomes in castor oil to maximize curcuminoid content using a simple and environmentally friendly microwave-assisted extraction method. A 32 full factorial design was employed, with two factors-microwave power and time-varying between 600-800 W and 30-90 s, respectively. Five responses were monitored, including extraction yield, bisdemethoxycurcumin, demethoxycurcumin, curcumin, and total curcuminoid contents. The results demonstrated that increasing microwave power and time led to an increase in all five responses. The optimal condition, which simultaneously maximized extraction yield and total curcuminoid content, was achieved at a microwave power of 800 W for 90 s. This condition resulted in an extraction yield of 71.020%, bisdemethoxycurcumin content of 0.036%, demethoxycurcumin content of 0.210%, curcumin content of 0.080%, and total curcuminoid content of 0.326%. The computer program accurately predicted the results with a percentage error of less than 2%. Stability data revealed that the total curcuminoid content remained stable with a percentage remaining above 90% when stored at 4°C, 30°C ± 75%RH, and 40°C ± 75%RH for three months. In summary, this study successfully applied a full factorial design to maximize curcuminoid extraction from C. aromatica rhizomes using an environmentally friendly microwave-assisted extraction method for cosmetic purposes.

Screening the Extract of Laportea bulbifera (Sieb. et Zucc.) Wedd. Based on Active Component Content, Its Antioxidant Capacity and Exploration of Hepatoprotective Activity in Rats

Laportea bulbifera (Sieb. et Zucc.) Wedd., a plant with a long history of medicinal use, possesses uncertainly defined medicament portions while its antioxidant capacity remains largely unexplored. To gain a better understanding of its medicinal value, this study focused on investigating the Laportea bulbifera aboveground part (LBAP) and the Laportea bulbifera root (LBR). Through an assessment of the bioactive compound content, a significant finding emerged: the LBR exhibited notably higher levels of these bioactive phytochemicals compared to the LBAP. This observation was further reinforced by the antioxidant assays, which demonstrated the superiority of the LBR's antioxidant capacity. The experimental results unequivocally indicate that the root is the optimal medicament portion for Laportea bulbifera. Furthermore, it was discovered that the presence of alcohol in the extraction solvent significantly enhanced the extraction of active ingredients, with the methanol extract of LBR performing the best among the extracts tested. Consequently, this extract was selected for further research. Leveraging cutting-edge UHPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS technology, the methanol extract of LBR was meticulously analyzed, revealing the presence of 41 compounds, primarily belonging to the phenolics and fatty acids. Remarkably, stability experiments demonstrated that the phenolics in the methanol extract maintained their stability across various pH values and during in vitro simulations of the human digestive system, albeit showing gradual degradation under high temperatures. Furthermore, the oxidative stability tests conducted on oils revealed the potential of the methanol extract as a stabilizer for olive oil and sunflower oil. Moreover, oral acute toxicity studies confirmed the low toxicity of the methanol extract, further supporting its safe use for medicinal purposes. Of particular note, histopathological examination and biochemical analysis affirmed the remarkable protective effects of the methanol extract against d-galactosamine-induced liver damage. These findings underscore the therapeutic potential of the methanol extract from the LBR in the treatment of diseases associated with oxidative imbalance.

Effects of editing DFR genes on flowers, leaves, and roots of tobacco

BACKGROUND

DFR is a crucial structural gene in plant flavonoid and polyphenol metabolism, and DFR knockout (DFR-KO) plants may have increased biomass accumulation. It is uncertain whether DFR-KO has comparable effects in tobacco and what the molecular mechanism is. We employed the CRISPR/Cas9 method to generate a knockout homozygous construct and collected samples from various developmental phases for transcriptome and metabolome detection and analysis.

RESULTS

DFR-KO turned tobacco blossoms white on homozygous tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants with both NtDFR1 and NtDFR2 knockout. RNA-seq investigation of anthesis leaf (LF), anthesis flower (FF), mature leaf (LM), and mature root (RM) variations in wild-type (CK) and DFR-KO lines revealed 2898, 276, 311, and 101 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), respectively. DFR-KO primarily affected leaves during anthesis. According to KEGG and GSEA studies, DFR-KO lines upregulated photosynthetic pathway carbon fixation and downregulated photosystem I and II genes. DFR-KO may diminish tobacco anthesis leaf photosynthetic light reaction but boost dark reaction carbon fixation. DFR-KO lowered the expression of pathway-related genes in LF, such as oxidative phosphorylation and proteasome, while boosting those in the plant-pathogen interaction and MAPK signaling pathways, indicating that it may increase biological stress resistance. DFR-KO greatly boosted the expression of other structural genes involved in phenylpropanoid production in FF, which may account for metabolite accumulation. The metabolome showed that LF overexpressed 8 flavonoid metabolites and FF downregulated 24 flavone metabolites. In DFR-KO LF, proteasome-related genes downregulated 16 amino acid metabolites and reduced free amino acids. Furthermore, the DEG analysis on LM revealed that the impact of DFR-KO on tobacco growth may progressively diminish with time.

CONCLUSION

The broad impact of DFR-KO on different phases and organs of tobacco development was thoroughly and methodically investigated in this research. DFR-KO decreased catabolism and photosynthetic light reactions in leaves during the flowering stage while increasing carbon fixation and disease resistance pathways. However, the impact of DFR-KO on tobacco growth steadily declined as it grew and matured, and transcriptional and metabolic modifications were consistent. This work offers a fresh insight and theoretical foundation for tobacco breeding and the development of gene-edited strains.

Correlation analysis between jejunum metabolites and immune function in Saba and Landrace piglets

The immune function of the intestinal mucosa plays a crucial role in the intestinal health of hosts. As signaling molecules and precursors of metabolic reactions, intestinal chyme metabolites are instrumental in maintaining host immune homeostasis. Saba (SB) pigs, a unique local pig species in central Yunnan Province, China. However, research on jejunal metabolites in this species is limited. Here, we used immunohistochemistry and untargeted metabolomics by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to study differences in jejunal immunophenotypes and metabolites between six Landrace (LA) and six SB piglets (35 days old). The results showed that the levels of the anti-inflammatory factor interleukin 10 (IL-10) were markedly higher in SB piglets than in LA piglets (P < 0.01), while the levels of the proinflammatory factors IL-6, IL-1β, and Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR-2) were markedly lower (P < 0.01). Furthermore, the levels of mucin 2 (MUC2) and zona occludens (ZO-1), which are related to mucosal barrier function, were significantly higher in SB piglets than in LA piglets (P < 0.01), as were villus height, villus height/crypt depth ratio, and goblet cell number (P < 0.05). Differences in jejunal chyme metabolic patterns were observed between the two piglets. In the negative ion mode, cholic acid metabolites ranked in the top 20 and represented 25% of the total. Taurodeoxycholic acid (TDCA) content was significantly higher in SB piglets than in LA piglets (P < 0.01). TDCA positively correlated with ZO-1, villus height, villus height/crypt depth ratio, and goblet cell number. These results suggest that SB pigs have a strong jejunal immune function and that TDCA was positively regulates jejunal immunity and mucosal barrier function. Our findings provide a reference for understanding intestinal immune function in different pig breeds and for the discovery of potential biomarkers to help solve health issues related to pig production.

Mass Spectrometry-Based Nontargeted and Targeted Analytical Approaches in Fingerprinting and Metabolomics of Food and Agricultural Research

Mass spectrometry (MS)-based techniques have been extensively applied in food and agricultural research. This review aims to address the advances and applications of MS-based analytical strategies in nontargeted and targeted analysis and summarizes the recent publications of MS-based techniques, including flow injection MS fingerprinting, chromatography-tandem MS metabolomics, direct analysis using ambient mass spectrometry, as well as development in MS data deconvolution software packages and databases for metabolomic studies. Various nontargeted and targeted approaches are employed in marker compounds identification, material adulteration detection, and the analysis of specific classes of secondary metabolites. In the newly emerged applications, the recent advances in computer tools for the fast deconvolution of MS data in targeted secondary metabolite analysis are highlighted.

Utilization of UPLC-PDA and GC-MS/MS coupled with metabolomics analysis to identify bioactive metabolites in medicinal turmeric at different ages for the quality assurance

BACKGROUND

Available monographs often suggest measurement of curcumin or curcuminoids for quality control of turmeric-based medicines/products. However, one compound is not enough to indicate the quality of traditional herbal medicines due to the holistic approach. Furthermore, to ensure high quality of such products, good harvesting practice plays an important role in the quality control of turmeric raw materials.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to indicate quality markers of turmeric and to suggest optimum harvesting times for turmeric used for medicinal purposes by integration of Thai traditional medicine knowledge.

METHODS

Turmeric rhizomes at 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11 months old were analyzed. UPLC-PDA was used for quantitation of curcumin. GC-MS/MS was used to obtain chemical profiles of turmeric volatile oil. PCA, Volcano plot, and HCA were performed to identify similarities or differences of the data.

RESULTS

Turmeric aged between 6 and 10 months old contained > 5%w/w of curcumin, which complied with Thai Herbal Pharmacopoeia 2021. GC-MS/MS analysis suggested suitable chemical markers, namely Ar-turmerone, turmerone, curlone, and zingiberene, because they exhibited pharmacological activities related to the traditional uses of turmeric. Eucalyptol, santalene, β-caryophyllene, cis-β-farnesene, α-caryophyllene, curcumene, β-bisabolene, β-sesquiphellandrene, and cis-sesquisabinene hydrate were also tentatively identified. Later, the multivariate analysis revealed that turmeric aged between 6 and 10 months old showed similar metabolite profiles.

CONCLUSION

Based on curcumin content and chemical profiles, turmeric aged between 6 and 10 months old are appropriate for uses in Thai traditional medicine. Our study suggests additional information in the quality control of turmeric to assure its efficacy, especially for uses in traditional medicines.

Metabolomics-based profiling for quality assessment and revealing the impact of drying of Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.)

Turmeric, the rhizomes of Curcuma longa L., is one of the top selling spices, food preservatives, and food colorants. In addition, it exhibits health promoting benefits owing to its unique phytochemical composition. Nevertheless, it is commonly subjected to heat drying, hence, the dried powder is the most used form and can easily be adulterated with allied species. Therefore, our research aimed to profile the phytochemical composition and investigate the impact of drying of turmeric. Extraction and fractionation followed by LC- and GC–MS analysis resulted in the identification of a total of 161 metabolites belonged to various phytochemical classes. Moreover, multivariate data analysis identified curcuminoids, terpecurcumins, and organic acids as potential markers for drying. Based on the applied analytical techniques in combination with chemometrics, these investigations have succeeded to provide good coverage of the metabolome of turmeric in both fresh and dried forms.

Coronarin D, a Metabolite from the Wild Turmeric, Curcuma aromatica, Promotes the Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells into Astrocytes

Plants in the genus Curcuma have been widely used as traditional medicines in Asian countries. These plants contain bioactive compounds with neuroprotective properties or activities that increase neural stem cells (NSCs) and neurons. However, bioactive components in Curcuma that promote the differentiation of NSCs into astrocytes have not yet been reported. Here, the effects of Curcuma extracts on the in vitro differentiation of embryonic stem-cell-derived NSCs were evaluated. The extract of the wild turmeric, Curcuma aromatica, strongly promoted the differentiation of NSCs into astrocytes. Bioassay-guided isolation yielded coronarins C (1) and D (2), as well as (E)-labda-8(17),12-diene-15,16-dial (3) as the bioactive compounds. Coronarin D (2) markedly promoted the differentiation of NSCs into astrocytes up to approximately 4 times (3.64 ± 0.48) and increased the expression level of GFAP at the mRNA and protein level, while compounds 1 and 3 exhibited only weak effects, suggesting that the 15-hydroxy-Δ¹²-γ-lactone moiety is important for bioactivity. Moreover, compound 2 increased the number of pSTAT3-positive cells, suggesting that compound 2 promoted astrocytic differentiation through JAK/STAT signaling pathway.

Bioprospecting Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria for Enhancing the Biological Properties and Phytochemical Composition of Medicinally Important Crops

Traditionally, medicinal plants have long been used as a natural therapy. Plant-derived extracts or phytochemicals have been exploited as food additives and for curing many health-related ailments. The secondary metabolites produced by many plants have become an integral part of human health and have strengthened the value of plant extracts as herbal medicines. To fulfil the demand of health care systems, food and pharmaceutical industries, interest in the cultivation of precious medicinal plants to harvest bio-active compounds has increased considerably worldwide. To achieve maximum biomass and yield, growers generally apply chemical fertilizers which have detrimental impacts on the growth, development and phytoconstituents of such therapeutically important plants. Application of beneficial rhizosphere microbiota is an alternative strategy to enhance the production of valuable medicinal plants under both conventional and stressed conditions due to its low cost, environmentally friendly behaviour and non-destructive impact on fertility of soil, plants and human health. The microbiological approach improves plant growth by various direct and indirect mechanisms involving the abatement of various abiotic stresses. Given the negative impacts of fertilizers and multiple benefits of microbiological resources, the role of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in the production of biomass and their impact on the quality of bio-active compounds (phytochemicals) and mitigation of abiotic stress to herbal plants have been described in this review. The PGPR based enhancement in the herbal products has potential for use as a low cost phytomedicine which can be used to improve health care systems.

In Vitro Phytochemical Screening, Cytotoxicity Studies of Curcuma longa Extracts with Isolation and Characterisation of Their Isolated Compounds

The Curcuma longa plant is endowed with multiple traditional and therapeutic utilities and is here explored for its phytochemical constituents and cytotoxic potential. Turmeric rhizomes were extracted from three different solvents and screened for the presence of different phytochemical constituents, observation of which indicated that the polar solvents favoured extraction of greater versatile phytochemical constituents. These extracts were investigated for their cytotoxic potential by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay on three different of cell lines including SCC-29B (oral cancer cell line), DU-145 (prostate cancer cell line) and the Vero cell line (healthy cell line/non-cancerous cell line). This assay was performed by taking three extracts from isolated curcuminoids and a pure bioactive compound bisdemethoxycurcumin (BD). Bisdemethoxycurcumin was isolated from curcuminoids and purified by column and thin-layer chromatography, and its structural characterisation was performed with different spectroscopic techniques such as FTIR, NMR (¹H Proton and ¹³C Carbon-NMR) and LC-MS. Amongst the extracts, the ethanolic extracts exhibited stronger cytotoxic potential against the oral cancer cell line (SCC-29B) with an IC₅₀value of 11.27 μg/mL, and that this was too low of a cytotoxicity against the Vero cell line. Although, curcuminoids have also shown a comparable cytotoxic potential against SCC-29B (IC₅₀ value 16.79 μg/mL), it was not as potent against the ethanolic extract, and it was even found to be cytotoxic against healthy cell lines at a very low dose. While considering the isolated compound, bisdemethoxycurcumin, it also possessed a cytotoxic potential against the prostate cancer cell line (DU-145) (IC₅₀ value of 93.28 μg/mL), but was quite safe for the healthy cell line in comparison to doxorubicin.

Isoprocurcumenol Supports Keratinocyte Growth and Survival through Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Activation

Although proliferation of keratinocytes, a major type of skin cells, is a key factor in maintaining the function of skin, their ability to proliferate tends to diminish with age. To solve such a problem, researchers in medical and skin cosmetic fields have tried to utilize epidermal growth factor (EGF), but achieved limited success. Therefore, a small natural compound that can mimic the activity of EGF is highly desired in both medical and cosmetic fields. Here, using the modified biosensor system, we observed that natural small-compound isoprocurcumenol, which is a terpenoid molecule derived from turmeric, can activate EGFR signaling. It increased the phosphorylation of ERK and AKT, and upregulated the expression of genes related to cell growth and proliferation, such as c-myc, c-jun, c-fos, and egr-1. In addition, isoprocurcumenol induced the proliferation of keratinocytes in both physical and UVB-induced cellular damage, indicative of its function in skin regeneration. These findings reveal that EGF-like isoprocurcumenol promotes the proliferation of keratinocytes and further suggest its potential as an ingredient for medical and cosmetics use.

Simplex lattice design for optimization of the mass ratio of Curcuma longa L., Curcuma zedoaria (Christm.) Roscoe and Curcuma aromatica Salisb. to maximize curcuminoids content and antioxidant activity

The aim of this work was to optimize the mass ratio of three Curcuma plants' rhizomes to obtain the highest curcuminoid content and antioxidant activity using the simplex lattice design. The selected Curcuma plants were C. longa, C. zedoaria and C. aromatica. The simplex lattice design was applied in the work. The individual curcuminoids (curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bis-demethoxycurcumin) and total curcuminoid content were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. Curcuma longa alone provided the highest content of bis-demethoxycurcumin and demethoxycurcumin. A mixture of C. longa and C. aromatica in the mass ratio of 72:28 % provided the highest curcumin content. The results showed that C. longa alone exhibited the highest antioxidant activity.

Turmeric and its bioactive constituents trigger cell signaling mechanisms that protect against diabetes and cardiovascular diseases

Turmeric, the rhizome of Curcuma longa plant belonging to the ginger family Zingiberaceae, has a history in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine for treatment of chronic diseases, including metabolic and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). This parallels a prevalence of age- and lifestyle-related diseases, especially CVD and type 2 diabetes (T2D), and associated mortality which has occurred in recent decades. While the chemical composition of turmeric is complex, curcuminoids and essential oils are known as two major groups that display bioactive properties. Curcumin, the most predominant curcuminoid, can modulate several cell signaling pathways involved in the etiology and pathogenesis of CVD, T2D, and related morbidities. Lesser bioactivities have been reported from other curcuminoids and essential oils. This review examines the chemical compositions of turmeric, and related bioactive constituents. A focus was placed on the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the protective effects of turmeric and turmeric-derived compounds against diabetes and CVD, compiled from the findings obtained with cell-based and animal models. Evidence from clinical trials is also presented to identify potential preventative and therapeutic efficacies. Clinical studies with longer intervention durations and specific endpoints for assessing health outcomes are warranted in order to fully evaluate the long-term protective efficacy of turmeric.

Pure Ion Chromatograms Combined with Advanced Machine Learning Methods Improve Accuracy of Discriminant Models in LC-MS-Based Untargeted Metabolomics

Untargeted metabolomics based on liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) can detect thousands of features in samples and produce highly complex datasets. The accurate extraction of meaningful features and the building of discriminant models are two crucial steps in the data analysis pipeline of untargeted metabolomics. In this study, pure ion chromatograms were extracted from a liquor dataset and left-sided colon cancer (LCC) dataset by K-means-clustering-based Pure Ion Chromatogram extraction method version 2.0 (KPIC2). Then, the nonlinear low-dimensional embedding by uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP) showed the separation of samples from different groups in reduced dimensions. The discriminant models were established by extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) based on the features extracted by KPIC2. Results showed that features extracted by KPIC2 achieved 100% classification accuracy on the test sets of the liquor dataset and the LCC dataset, which demonstrated the rationality of the XGBoost model based on KPIC2 compared with the results of XCMS (92% and 96% for liquor and LCC datasets respectively). Finally, XGBoost can achieve better performance than the linear method and traditional nonlinear modeling methods on these datasets. UMAP and XGBoost are integrated into KPIC2 package to extend its performance in complex situations, which are not only able to effectively process nonlinear dataset but also can greatly improve the accuracy of data analysis in non-target metabolomics.

The Role of High-Resolution Analytical Techniques in the Development of Functional Foods

The approaches based on high-resolution analytical techniques, such as nuclear magnetic resonance or mass spectrometry coupled to chromatographic techniques, have a determining role in several of the stages necessary for the development of functional foods. The analyses of botanical extracts rich in bioactive compounds is one of the fundamental steps in order to identify and quantify their phytochemical composition. However, the compounds characterized in the extracts are not always responsible for the bioactive properties because they generally undergo metabolic reactions before reaching the therapeutic targets. For this reason, analytical techniques are also applied to analyze biological samples to know the bioavailability, pharmacokinetics and/or metabolism of the compounds ingested by animal or human models in nutritional intervention studies. In addition, these studies have also been applied to determine changes of endogenous metabolites caused by prolonged intake of compounds with bioactive potential. This review aims to describe the main types and modes of application of high-resolution analytical techniques in all these steps for functional food development.

Fucoidan Characterization: Determination of Purity and Physicochemical and Chemical Properties

Fucoidans are marine sulfated biopolysaccharides that have heterogenous and complicated chemical structures. Various sugar monomers, glycosidic linkages, molecular masses, branching sites, and sulfate ester pattern and content are involved within their backbones. Additionally, sources, downstream processes, and geographical and seasonal factors show potential effects on fucoidan structural characteristics. These characteristics are documented to be highly related to fucoidan potential activities. Therefore, numerous chemical qualitative and quantitative determinations and structural elucidation methods are conducted to characterize fucoidans regarding their physicochemical and chemical features. Characterization of fucoidan polymers is considered a bottleneck for further biological and industrial applications. Consequently, the obtained results may be related to different activities, which could be improved afterward by further functional modifications. The current article highlights the different spectrometric and nonspectrometric methods applied for the characterization of native fucoidans, including degree of purity, sugar monomeric composition, sulfation pattern and content, molecular mass, and glycosidic linkages.

The Authentication of Java Turmeric (Curcuma xanthorrhiza) Using Thin Layer Chromatography and 1H-NMR Based-Metabolite Fingerprinting Coupled with Multivariate Analysis

The identification of adulteration practices of medicinal plants used as herbal medicine is very important to ensure the quality, safety, and efficacy. In this study, thin layer chromatography (TLC) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR)-based metabolite fingerprinting coupled with multivariate analysis were used for authentication of Curcuma xanthorrhiza extract from Curcuma aeruginosa. Curcumin contents obtained from C. xanthorrhiza extract from various regions were in the range of 0.74%–1.23%. Meanwhile, curcumin contents obtained from C. xanthorrhiza extract adulterated with 0%, 10%, 25%, 40%, 50%, and 75% of C. aeruginosa were 1.02%, 0.96%, 0.86%, 0.69%, 0.43%, and 0.27%, respectively. The decreasing of curcumin contents in adulterant concentrations of 40% and more in C. xanthorrhiza rhizome could indicate the adulteration with other rhizomes. Multivariate analysis of PCA (principal component analysis) using data set obtained from ¹H-NMR spectra clearly discriminated pure and adulterated C. xanthorrhiza with C. aeruginosa. OPLS-DA (orthogonal projections to latent structures-discriminant analysis) successfully classified pure and adulterated C. xanthorrhiza with higher R2X (0.965), R2Y (0.958), and Q2(cum) (0.93). It can be concluded that ¹H-NMR-based metabolite fingerprinting coupled with PCA and OPLS-DA offers an adequate method to assess adulteration practice and to evaluate the authentication of C. xanthorrhiza extracts.

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of saponins in the flower bud of Panax ginseng (Ginseng Flos) by UFLC-Triple TOF-MS/MS and UFLC-QTRAP-MS/MS

INTRODUCTION

Ginseng Flos (GF), the flower bud of Panax ginseng, is a worthy functional food with medicinal potential. A few studies have focused on the comprehensive and systematic analysis of its major bioactive constituents.

OBJECTIVE

The aims are to develop the methods of ultra-fast liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole-time of flight tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC-Triple TOF-MS/MS) and ultra-fast liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole-linear ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC-QTRAP-MS/MS) for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the saponins in GF.

METHODOLOGY

UFLC-Triple TOF-MS/MS and UFLC-QTRAP-MS/MS were established for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the saponins in GF, separately.

RESULTS

Fifty-one saponins were identified in GF using UFLC-Triple TOF-MS/MS method; among them, 21 saponins were characterized by comparing with standards. Furthermore, 12 ginsenosides (ginsenoside Re, Rg₁ , Rf, 20(S)-Rg₂ , 20(R)-Rg₂ , Rb₁ , Rc, Ro, Rb₂ , F₁ , Rd, and F₂ ) were synchronously determined by UFLC-QTRAP-MS/MS method after the extraction with 70% methanol. This UFLC-QTRAP-MS/MS method showed good linearity (r >0.9991), the interday and intraday precision, repeatability and stability were all satisfied, the average recoveries of standard addition for the compounds were between 94.01% and 105.16%, and the relative standard deviations were less than 5%.

CONCLUSION

The results are available for the comprehensive quality control and assessment of GF and its relative products.

Determination of Curcuminoids by Liquid Chromatography with Diode Array Detection: Application to the Characterization of Turmeric and Curry Samples

Background:

A simple, rapid and efficient method for the determination of curcumin and other polyphenols in turmeric and curry samples was here developed. The method relied on sample extraction with methanol and extract analysis by liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD).

Methods:

The separation of components was carried out in reversed-phase mode using an elution gradient based on 0.1% (v/v) formic acid aqueous solution and acetonitrile as the components of the mobile phase. Chromatograms were recorded at 420 nm for specific monitoring of curcumin and related compounds.

Results:

Extraction and separation conditions were optimized by experimental design and multicriteria response functions. Figures of merit were established under the selected experimental conditions. In general, repeatability of peak areas were better than 0.4%, detection limits were below 0.006 mg L-1 and quantitative recoveries expressed as a percentage were about 100 ± 2. The method was applied to quantify curcuminoids in commercial samples. It was found that apart from curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin, other related molecules also occurred in the samples. In this regard, a tentative elucidation of possible unknown curcuminoids was attempted by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry.

Conclusion:

Differences in the compositional profiles among samples were encountered to be relevant, so that the resulting HPLC-DAD data was exploited for chemometric characterization of turmeric and curry samples. Samples were successfully discriminated according to matrix types, species varieties and origins.

Optimization extraction and purification of biological activity curcumin from Curcuma longa L by high-performance counter-current chromatography

The extraction condition of curcumin from Curcuma longa L was optimized through four factors and three levels orthogonal experiment based on the results of single factor tests. Under the optimal conditions: the concentration of ethanol  80%, extraction temperature 70°C, the ratio of liquid to material 20, and extraction time 3 h, a crude extract with the yield of curcumin 56.8 mg/g could be obtained. The isolation and purification of curcuminoids from the crude extract was performed on high performance counter current chromatography employing an optimized solvent system n-hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (2/3/3/1, v/v/v/v). From 97 mg crude sample (in which the purity of curmumin was 68.56%), 67 mg curmumin, 18 mg demethoxycurcumin, and 9.7 mg bisdemethoxycurcumin with a high-performance liquid chromatography purity of 98.26, 97.39, and 98.67%, respectively, were obtained within 70 min. The antioxidant activities and cytotoxicity of purified curcumin was comparable to that of the commercial product, indicating that the biological activity of curcumin could be maintained by this method.

Untargeted Metabolomics Toward Systematic Characterization of Antioxidant Compounds in Betulaceae Family Plant Extracts

Plant species have traditionally been revered for their unparalleled pharmacognostic applications. We outline a non-iterative multi-parallel metabolomic-cum-bioassay-guided methodology toward the functional characterization of ethanol extracts from the Betulaceae family plants (n = 10). We performed mass spectrometry (MS)-based multivariate analyses and bioassay-guided (ABTS antioxidant activity and cytoprotective effects against H₂O₂-induced cell damage) analyses of SPE fractions. A clearly distinct metabolomic pattern coupled with significantly higher bioactivities was observed for 40% methanol SPE eluate. Further, the 40% SPE eluate was subjected to preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (prep-HPLC) analysis, yielding 72 sub-fractions (1 min⁻¹), with the highest antioxidant activities observed for the 15 min and 31 min sub-fractions. We simultaneously performed hyphenated-MS-based metabolite characterization of bioactive components for both the 40% methanol SPE fraction and its prep-HPLC sub-fraction (15 min and 31 min). Altogether, 19 candidate metabolites were mainly observed to contribute toward the observed bioactivities. In particular, ethyl gallate was mainly observed to affect the antioxidant activities of SPE and prep-HPLC fractions of Alnus firma extracts. We propose an integrated metabolomic-cum-bioassay-guided approach for the expeditious selection and characterization of discriminant metabolites with desired phenotypes or bioactivities.

Effect of Imidacloprid Uptake from Contaminated Soils on Vegetable Growth

In the present study, the effect of imidacloprid uptake from contaminated soils on the growth of leaf vegetable Shanghaiqing was investigated. The result showed that during 35-day exposure, the concentration of imidacloprid (IMI) was in the order of vegetable shoots > vegetable roots > soil, indicating that IMI was more readily concentrated in vegetable shoots than in roots. Moreover, the biomass of IMI-treated vegetable shoots was comparable to that of the controls with early exposure, but was higher than that of the controls after 7-day exposure, showing that the test concentration of IMI could stimulate vegetable growth. The plant metabolic analysis of vegetable shoots using LC-QTOF/MS revealed that IMI may cause oxidative stress to the plant shoots with early exposure; however, the stressful situation of IMI seems to be relieved with the increase of some substances (such as spermidine and phenylalanine) with late exposure. Moreover, the upregulation of N-rich amino acids (glutamine, aspartate, and arginine) suggested that the process of fixing inorganic nitrogen in the plant should be enhanced, possibly contributing to enhanced growth rates. Additionally, four IMI's metabolites were identified by using MS-FINDER software, and the distribution of three metabolites in vegetable tissues was compared.

Comparative analysis of proteomic and metabolomic profiles of different species of Paris

An extract prepared from species of Paris is the most widely consumed herbal product in China. The genus Paris includes a variety of genotypes with different medicinal component contents but only two are defined as official sources. Closely related species have different medicinal properties because of differential expression of proteins and metabolites. To better understand the molecular basis of these differences, we examined proteomic and metabolomic changes in rhizomes of P. polyphylla var. chinensis, P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis, and P. fargesii var. fargesii using a technique known as sequential window acquisition of all theoretical mass spectra as well as gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry. In total, 419 proteins showed significant abundance changes, and 33 metabolites could be used to discriminate Paris species. A complex analysis of proteomic and metabolomic data revealed a higher efficiency of sucrose utilization and an elevated protein abundance in the sugar metabolic pathway of P. polyphylla var. chinensis. The pyruvate content and efficiency of acetyl-CoA-utilization in saponin biosynthesis were also higher in P. polyphylla var. chinensis than in the other two species. The results expand our understanding of the proteome and metabolome of Paris and offer new insights into the species-specific traits of these herbaceous plants. SIGNIFICANCE: The traditional Chinese medicine Paris is the most widely consumed herbal product for the treatment of joint pain, rheumatoid arthritis and antineoplastic. All Paris species have roughly the same morphological characteristics; however, different members have different medicinal compound contents. Efficient exploitation of genetic diversity is a key factor in the development of rare medicinal plants with improved agronomic traits and malleability to challenging environmental conditions. Nevertheless, only a partial understanding of physiological and molecular mechanisms of different plants of Paris can be achieved without proteomics. To better understand the molecular basis of these differences and facilitate the use of other Paris species, we examine proteomic metabolomic changes in rhizomes of Paris using the technique known as SWATH-MS and GC/TOF-MS. Our research has provided information that can be used in other studies to compare metabolic traits in different Paris species. Our findings can also serve as a theoretical basis for the selection and cultivation of other Paris species with a higher medicinal value.

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.

LC-ESI/LTQOrbitrap/MS/MS and GC-MS profiling of Stachys parviflora L. and evaluation of its biological activities

The use of some Stachys genus as herbal remedies is known and the aerial parts have a pharmaceutical interest, being used in Anatolia and Iran as wild tea. In this study, chemical composition, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antiproliferative activities of the methanolic extract and essential oil (EO) of Stachys parviflora L. (S. parviflora) were evaluated. Qualitative analysis of metabolites of S. parviflora methanolic extract was studied using liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-ESI/LTQOrbitrap/MS), evidencing the presence of phenolic acids and flavonoids derivatives. The EO was analyzed using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Eighty-seven compounds were characterized in the EO of S. parviflora, of which α-terpenyl acetate (23.6%), β-caryophyllene (16.8%), bicyclogermacrene (9.3%), spathulenol (4.9%) and α-pinene (4.2%) were found to be the major components. The highest antimicrobial effect of EO was found to S. aureus and B. cereus (MIC = 0.01 μg/ml), while the highest activity of extract was against B. cereus (MIC = 125 μg/ml). The methanolic extract exhibited strong antioxidant activity in DPPH (IC₅₀ = 76.87 μg/ml) and β-carotene/linoleic acid assay (BCB, IC₅₀ = 188.47 μg/ml) methods. Furthermore, in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation against three cell lines namely human ovarian carcinoma (A2780), human colon carcinoma (HCT), and mouse melanoma cell line (B16F10), showed an anti-proliferative activity of the EO ranging from IC₅₀ value 30.95 μg/ml to 16.55 μg/ml. The results from this study have demonstrated the promising cytotoxic, antibacterial, and antifungal properties of S. parviflora, which could have wide potential applications in food and pharmaceutical industries.

Metabolomic Evaluation of the Quality of Leaf Lettuce Grown in Practical Plant Factory to Capture Metabolite Signature

Vegetables produce metabolites that affect their taste and nutritional value and compounds that contribute to human health. The quality of vegetables grown in plant factories under hydroponic cultivation, e.g., their sweetness and softness, can be improved by controlling growth factors including the temperature, humidity, light source, and fertilizer. However, soil is cheaper than hydroponic cultivation and the visual phenotype of vegetables grown under the two conditions is different. As it is not clear whether their metabolite composition is also different, we studied leaf lettuce raised under the hydroponic condition in practical plant factory and strictly controlled soil condition. We chose two representative cultivars, "black rose" (BR) and "red fire" (RF) because they are of high economic value. Metabolite profiling by comprehensive gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) resulted in the annotation of 101 metabolites from 223 peaks detected by GC-MS; LC-MS yielded 95 peaks. The principal component analysis (PCA) scatter plot showed that the most distinct separation patterns on the first principal component (PC1) coincided with differences in the cultivation methods. There were no clear separations related to cultivar differences in the plot. PC1 loading revealed the discriminant metabolites for each cultivation method. The level of amino acids such as lysine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, and valine was significantly increased in hydroponically grown leaf lettuce, while soil-cultivation derived leaf lettuce samples contained significantly higher levels of fatty-acid derived alcohols (tetracosanol and hexacosanol) and lettuce-specific sesquiterpene lactones (lactucopicrin-15-oxalate and 15-deoxylactucin-8-sulfate). These findings suggest that the metabolite composition of leaf lettuce is primarily affected by its cultivation condition. As the discriminant metabolites reveal important factors that contribute to the nutritional value and taste characteristics of leaf lettuce, we performed comprehensive metabolite profiling to identify metabolite compositions, i.e., metabolite signature, that directly improve its quality and value.

Application of Metabolomics to Quality Control of Natural Product Derived Medicines

Metabolomics has been used as a powerful tool for the analysis and quality assessment of the natural product (NP)-derived medicines. It is increasingly being used in the quality control and standardization of NP-derived medicines because they are composed of hundreds of natural compounds. The most common techniques that are used in metabolomics consist of NMR, GC-MS, and LC-MS in combination with multivariate statistical analyses including principal components analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Currently, the quality control of the NP-derived medicines is usually conducted using HPLC and is specified by one or two indicators. To create a superior quality control framework and avoid adulterated drugs, it is necessary to be able to determine and establish standards based on multiple ingredients using metabolic profiling and fingerprinting. Therefore, the application of various analytical tools in the quality control of NP-derived medicines forms the major part of this review. Veregen^® (Medigene AG, Planegg/Martinsried, Germany), which is the first botanical prescription drug approved by US Food and Drug Administration, is reviewed as an example that will hopefully provide future directions and perspectives on metabolomics technologies available for the quality control of NP-derived medicines.

Identification and characterization of curcuminoids in turmeric using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight tandem mass spectrometry

A three-step strategy was developed for systematic characterization of curcuminoids in turmeric. Based on UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS analysis, 89 curcuminoids including 16 novel ones were identified in the turmeric samples using this approach. During the identification process, false positive results were excluded by combining the positive and negative ESI-MS/MS analyses. Moreover, the characterization of the keto and enol forms of type A, B and C curcuminoids was first discussed and they were clearly distinguished using negative ESI-MS/MS method with UV spectra analyses. The structures of detected curcuminoids were identified and rationalized in both ion modes. Additionally, the fragmentation behaviors of the 15 types of curcuminoids were clearly illustrated in this work, which will be helpful for detection and identification of corresponding trace curcuminoids in complex turmeric samples using UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS methods.

NMR-based metabolomic analysis of wild, greenhouse, and in vitro regenerated shoots of Cymbopogon schoenanthus subsp. proximus with GC-MS assessment of proximadiol

Cymbopogon schoenanthus subsp. proximus is a wild plant distributed in subtropical and east Africa extending from the north to the southern parts of Egypt. Widely used in folk medicine, it is the source of the diuretic sesquiterpene proximadiol. Nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomic analysis of polar extracts of shoots from wild, greenhouse, somatic embryos, and direct and indirect organogenic in vitro cultures was carried out. Metabolic profiling yielded 39 compounds, of which common metabolites were 15 (38.4%). Unique metabolites were trehalose (2.5%) in the wild plants, 2-hydroxylisobutyrate, galactarate and tyrosine (7.6%) in indirect organogenic shoots. Tartrate was found only in direct regenerated shoots (2.5%). Metabolites identified in greenhouse and embryogenic shoots showed no unique compounds. Multivariate analysis revealed significant differences between all tested shoots. 4-aminobutyrate, alanine, glutamine, glucose, fructose, and sucrose were the most significantly different metabolites. Proximadiol was identified and quantitatively measured from the non-polar extract of different types of shoots using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Concentrations ranged from 3.6 ± 0.03 to 198.6 ± 7.2 µg/100 mg dry weight in regenerated shoots from somatic embryogenesis and in wild plant shoots, respectively. Direct organogenesis yielded the highest in vitro concentration (20.3 ± 0.5 µg/100 mg dry weight). This study reported the metabolic profiling of C. schoenanthus polar extract and identified primary metabolites that are unique to the wild type and shoots regenerated from different in vitro cultures. Proximadiol was quantified and the in vitro culture system yielding the highest concentration relative to the wild plant was identified.

Nutrimetabolomics: An Update on Analytical Approaches to Investigate the Role of Plant-Based Foods and Their Bioactive Compounds in Non-Communicable Chronic Diseases

Metabolomics is the study of low-weight molecules present in biological samples such as biofluids, tissue/cellular extracts, and culture media. Metabolomics research is increasing, and at the moment, it has several applications in the food science and nutrition fields. In the present review, we provide an update about the most frequently used methodologies and metabolomic platforms in these areas. Also, we discuss different metabolomic strategies regarding the discovery of new bioactive compounds (BACs) in plant-based foods. Furthermore, we review the existing literature related to the use of metabolomics to investigate the potential protective role of BACs in the prevention and treatment of non-communicable chronic diseases, namely cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.

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.

Effect of Genotype and Environment on Salvia miltiorrhiza Roots Using LC/MS-Based Metabolomics

Salvia miltiorrhiza (S. miltiorrhiza) Bunge is broadly used as herbal medicine for the clinical treatments of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Despite its commercial and medicinal values, few systematic studies on the metabolome of S. miltiorrhiza roots have been carried out so far. We systematically described the metabolic profiles of S. miltiorrhiza using high pressure liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC/MS) in conjunction with multivariate statistical analyses, aimed at monitoring their biological variations of secondary metabolites related to three locations and four S. miltiorrhiza genotypes. A total of 40 bioactive constituents were putatively annotated in S. miltiorrhiza root samples. This study found that both the same S. miltiorrhiza genotype growing at three different locations and four S. miltiorrhiza genotypes growing at the same location had significant metabonomic differences identified by the principal component analysis (PCA) approach. By using orthogonal projection to latent structure with discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), 16 and 14 secondary metabolites can be used as potential location-specific and genotype-specific markers in S. miltiorrhiza, respectively. The specificity of LC/MS profiles offered a powerful tool to discriminate S. miltiorrhiza samples according to genotypes or locations.

A Simple, Rapid and Reliable Method to Determine Imipramine and Desipramine in Mouse Serum Using Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

A rapid and sensitive ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometric (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS) method was developed for quantification of imipramine, one of the most widely used tricyclic antidepressants, and desipramine, an active metabolite of imipramine, in mouse serum. The developed method included a simple protein precipitation with acetonitrile in 50 μL of serum and analyte separation on an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column using a gradient elution of acetonitrile with 0.1% formic acid and 20 mM ammonium formate. As a result, the entire analysis time was <20 min including the sample preparation and the LC-MS analysis. The limit of quantification was 5.0 ng mL(-1) for both imipramine and desipramine, and calibration curves were linear over the concentration range of 5.0-1,000.0 and 5.0-250.0 ng mL(-1) for imipramine and desipramine, respectively. Intraday precisions at three levels were 2.2-3.6 and 1.7-4.2% for imipramine and desipramine, respectively, whereas interday precisions were 2.6-5.0 and 2.0-8.4% for imipramine and desipramine, respectively. Accuracy ranged between 93.6 and 106.6% for imipramine and 94.1 and 106.4% for desipramine. Absolute recovery was 96.0-97.6% for imipramine and 87.0-99.5% for desipramine. Finally, the described method was applied to mice administered with imipramine, demonstrating the suitability for quantification of imipramine and desipramine for therapeutic drug monitoring or bioequivalence studies.

Chemotaxonomic Metabolite Profiling of 62 Indigenous Plant Species and Its Correlation with Bioactivities

Chemotaxonomic metabolite profiling of 62 indigenous Korean plant species was performed by ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC)-linear trap quadrupole-ion trap (LTQ-IT) mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (MS/MS) combined with multivariate statistical analysis. In partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), the 62 species clustered depending on their phylogenetic family, in particular, Aceraceae, Betulaceae, and Fagaceae were distinguished from Rosaceae, Fabaceae, and Asteraceae. Quinic acid, gallic acid, quercetin, quercetin derivatives, kaempferol, and kaempferol derivatives were identified as family-specific metabolites, and were found in relatively high concentrations in Aceraceae, Betulaceae, and Fagaceae. Fagaceae and Asteraceae were selected based on results of PLS-DA and bioactivities to determine the correlation between metabolic differences among plant families and bioactivities. Quinic acid, quercetin, kaempferol, quercetin derivatives, and kaempferol derivatives were found in higher concentrations in Fagaceae than in Asteraceae, and were positively correlated with antioxidant and tyrosinase inhibition activities. These results suggest that metabolite profiling was a useful tool for finding the different metabolic states of each plant family and understanding the correlation between metabolites and bioactivities in accordance with plant family.