Metabolomics Approach in Pharmacognosy

doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-802104-0.00030-5

Pharmacognosy

Fundamentals, Applications and Strategies

2017, Pages 597-616

https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-802104-0.00030-5 Get rights and content

Abstract

This chapter introduces readers to metabolomics as a new tool in pharmacognosy research. The escalating cost of medicine and health care services warrant the development of new ways and approaches in remedying the problem. Application of metabolomics approach in various aspects of pharmacognosy research may assist in reducing the cost of drug discovery and development.

Metabolomics is a holistic approach in understanding biological processes at a system level. It incorporates an extensive use of instrumentation (especially spectroscopy) and statistical methods. The tool has been successfully tested in solving numerous problems from diverse fields, and offers good promises of its benefits and potential use.

This chapter discusses to the basic understanding and procedures in metabolomics, including sample selection, collection, data acquisition, and data analysis. Relevant topics to pharmacognosy are also discussed to expose readers to some examples of the investigations involving metabolomics.

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Cited by (11)

Narcissus pseudonarcissus L. (Amaryllidaceae) bulbs metabolite profiling and biological activities
2023, South African Journal of Botany
Various metabolomics approaches have greatly contributed to the study of natural products from medicinal plants. Among thousands of plant species, Narcissus pseudonarcissus L. (Amaryllidaceae) is reputed for its ornamental, industrial, and medicinal applications. This plant is also used traditionally for microbial infections, inflammations, skin complaints, and cancers. Long ago, N. pseudonarcissus has gained considerable research interest thanks to its diverse alkaloids that have been widely studied. However, the non-alkaloidal principles and different bioactivities of this plant were poorly deliberated in previous works. Therefore, this work evaluates the biological potential of N. pseudonarcissus bulbs′ total ethanol extract (TEE) and its derived fractions (I‒IV), along with exploring the overlooked non-alkaloidal metabolites of this amaryllid. Overall, GC‒MS-based analysis of the bulbs led to the identification of varied metabolites, e.g., long-chain alkyl amines, alkylbenzenes, long-chain hydrocarbons, fatty acid derivatives, and phenylpropanoids. Most of these phytochemicals are first characterized herein in either the genus Narcissus or the family Amaryllidaceae. Additionally, the acidic EtOAc fraction (II) exhibited the highest scavenging potential of the 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical and the greatest ferric reducing power, possibly due to its relatively higher contents of phenolics and flavonoids that were also estimated herein. On the other hand, the basic EtOAc fraction (III) exerted the maximum anti-proliferative actions against Caco-2 (colon) and Mcf-7 (breast) tumor cells, while all of the tested fractions were inactive against HepG-2 (liver) cancer cells. Finally, different N. pseudonarcissus fractions demonstrated varied inhibitory activities against a group of pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Among them, fractions II and III were further observed as good synergists with some standard antimicrobial agents, even against some resistant microbial strains. These data could support the reported use of N. pseudonarcissus in traditional medical systems and help widen its future phytochemical and biological prospection.
Metabolomics of the secondary metabolites of Ammi visnaga L. roots (family Apiaceae) and evaluation of their biological potential
2022, South African Journal of Botany
Citation Excerpt :
Therefore, different multidisciplinary biotechnological approaches, e.g. bioinformatics, molecular genetics, and omics technologies, have been developed to widely and sustainably mine for secondary metabolites from natural sources (Yang et al., 2019). Of these, metabolomics has been employed for comprehensive analysis of different phytoconstituents, leading to a prominent shift in many plant research areas in addition to an expedited drug discovery (Shyur et al., 2008; Lajis et al., 2017). Using various metabolomics tools has not only overcome most pitfalls of conventional practices adopted in natural product research, but has also allowed a deeper insight into the biochemical status and gene functions of the studied organism (Hall et al., 2010).
Recent scientific advancements in biotechnological, nanobiotechnological, and omics approaches have blossomed into a plethora of applications that hold the potential to revolutionize natural product-based drug discovery. In this context, the present work was undertaken to unveil the secondary metabolites of the under-explored roots of Ammi visnaga L. (family Apiaceae) using HPLC‒HESI‒HRMS-based metabolomics, along with evaluating their anti-proliferative potential against a number of tumor cells in comparison with their green synthesized silver nanoparticles (SNPs), for the first time. Overall, the total ethanol extract of A. visnaga roots (TEEAVR) revealed potent inhibitory actions against colon cancer (Caco-2), breast cancer (Mcf-7), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG-2) cell lines, with IC₅₀ values of 3.19 ± 0.07, 12.36 ± 0.13, and 18.38 ± 0.09 µg/mL, respectively. More interestingly, the prepared biogenic SNPs of TEEAVR exhibited more prominent inhibitory potential, particularly against Caco-2 tumor cells (IC₅₀= 0.24 ± 0.05 µg/mL), which was even higher than that of doxorubicin (IC₅₀= 2.12 ± 0.04 µg/mL). Moreover, HPLC‒HESI‒HRMS metabolic profiling of TEEAVR resulted in the characterization of a group of chemically varied metabolites, including phenylpropanoids, flavonoids, isobenzofuranones, coumarins, and chromones. Among them, junipediol A 4-O-glucoside (1a), junipediol A 8-O-glucoside (1b), acacetin (2), and apiumetin-O-glucoside (7) exhibited greater binding affinities to the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase compared to the reference drug, erlotinib; suggesting their possible contribution as EGFR inhibitors to the promising anti-proliferative properties of TEEAVR. These findings cast a new light on the metabolic diversity of A. visnaga roots as an overlooked underground treasure of pharmaceutically relevant phytochemicals that could be incorporated into future anticancer drug research.
Dereplication of terpenes and phenolic compounds from Inga edulis extracts using HPLC-SPE-TT, RP-HPLC-PDA and NMR spectroscopy
2021, Natural Product Research
Inga edulis is traditionally used as anti-inflammatory and antidiarrheal and has been investigated as potential sources of biologically active natural products. In this study, dereplication strategy using HPLC-SPE-TT, RP-HPLC-PDA and NMR spectroscopy was employed, and this resulted in the identification of sixteen compounds from the leaves extract of I. edulis, including four triterpenes (lupeol, α-amirin, olean-18-ene acid and frideline), three flavonoids, eight phenolic acids, an anthocyanin derived from delphinidin-3-glycoside and a mixture of five acylated anthocyanins. The chemical identification was performed based on NMR data, chemosystematics aspects, UV spectra and by comparison with the retention time and UV spectra of authentic standards. The metabolic profile of the species indicated the presence of phenolic compounds as major constituents justifying its strong antioxidant potential performed in β-carotene test. The techniques used have shown effective strategies for the early detection of active natural products from plant extracts, as these approaches are still crucially absent.
Detection of bioactive compounds in persimmon (Diospyros kaki) using UPLC-ESI-Orbitrap-MS/MS and fluorescence analyses
2019, Microchemical Journal
Citation Excerpt :
Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis has been also applied for the detection of polyphenols in persimmon fruit [10,11]. Currently, NMR and LC-MS are the most common analytical platforms for the metabolite detection and identification due to their signal specificity and uniqueness [12]. LC-MS has its own advantages of higher sensitivity of metabolite detection as compared to NMR.
Persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) contains a number of metabolites, especially polyphenols and carotenoids, and persimmon is one of the most healthy fruits linking to a diet with reduced incidences of several diseases. However, little data are available on the persimmon in connection with its metabolites and properties. In recent study the differences between polar and non-polar extracts by ¹H NMR-based metabolomics was done. The present work presents a complete qualitative analytical characterization by UPLC-ESI-Orbitrap-MS/MS analysis and fluorescence studies in six persimmon cultivars. The metabolic differences were shown as well in the results of bioactivities and antioxidant capacities. The results of binding properties of persimmon polyphenols towards human serum albumin support polyphenol-albumin interactions with human plasma and characteristic to other plants. The presented methods can be widely used for quantitation of multiple compounds in many plants and biological samples, especially in vegetables and fruits.
<sup>1</sup>H NMR and antioxidant profiles of polar and non-polar extracts of persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) – Metabolomics study based on cultivars and origins
2018, Talanta
Citation Excerpt :
Other compounds such as flavonoids, flavanols, tannins, vitamin C and carotenoids were higher in Kr and Tr and were in line with reported recently results [27]. The loading plot presented on Fig. 5 (p [1] vs. p [2]) corresponds to the score plots of PCA model of the combined spectra (Fig. 3a). Persimmons from Israel (Kr and Tr) are located in negative side of first component; while persimmons from South Korea are in the positive side in the score plots.
Persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) is one of the most important fruits that has been consumed for its medicinal properties due to the presence of some active metabolites, particularly polyphenols and carotenoids. Previously described methods, including HPLC, were limited in the determination of metabolites in different persimmon varieties. The present study shows the evaluation and the differences among persimmon polar and non-polar extracts by ¹H NMR-based metabolomics approach. The hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) based on score values of principal component analysis (PCA) model was used to analyze the important compounds in investigated fruits. The ¹H NMR spectrum of persimmon chloroform (CDCl₃) extracts showed different types of compounds as compared to polar methanol-water (CD₃OD-D₂O) ones. Persimmons growing in Israel were clustered different from those growing in Korea with the abundance of phenolic compounds (gallic, caffeic and protocathecuic acids), carotenoids (β-cryptoxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin), amino acids (alanine), maltose, uridine, and fatty acids (myristic and palmitoleic acids). Glucose, choline and formic acid were more prominent in persimmon growing in Korea. In CD₃OD-D₂O and CDCl₃ persimmon extracts, 43 metabolites were identified. The metabolic differences were shown as well on the results of bioactivities and antioxidant capacities determined by ABTS, FRAP, CUPRAC and DPPH assays. The presented methods can be widely used for quantitation of multiple compounds in many plant and biological samples especially in vegetables and fruits.
Metabolomics Approach: A Tool for Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease
2023, Sustainable Uses and Prospects of Medicinal Plants

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Chapter 30 - Metabolomics Approach in Pharmacognosy

Abstract