A strategy for rapid identification of the chemical constituents from crude extracts of Tribulus terrestris was proposed using an informatics platform for the UHPLC/Q-TOF MS data analyses. This strategy mainly utilizes neutral losses, characteristic fragments, and in-house library to rapidly identify the structure of the compounds. With this strategy, rapid characterization of the chemical components of T. terrestris from Beijing, China was successfully achieved. A total of 82 steroidal saponins and nine flavonoids were identified or tentatively identified from T. terrestris. Among them, 15 new components were deduced based on retention times and characteristic MS fragmentation patterns. Furthermore, the chemical components of T. terrestris, including the other two samples from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region, China, and Rome, Italy, were also identified with this strategy. Altogether, 141 chemical components were identified from these three samples, of which 39 components were identified or tentatively identified as new compounds, including 35 groups of isomers. It demonstrated that this strategy provided an efficient protocol for the rapid identification of chemical constituents in complex samples such as traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) by UHPLC/Q-TOF MS with informatics platform. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

Deciphering the genetic basis of plant secondary metabolism will provide useful insights for genetic improvement and enhance our fundamental understanding of plant biological processes. Although citrus plants are among the most important fruit crops worldwide, the genetic basis of secondary metabolism in these plants is largely unknown. Here, we use a high-density linkage map to dissect large-scale flavonoid metabolic traits measured in different tissues (young leaf, old leaf, mature pericarp, and mature pulp) of an F1 pseudo-testcross citrus population. We detected 80 flavonoids in this population and identified 138 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for 57 flavonoids in these four tissues. Based on transcriptional profiling and functional annotation, twenty-one candidate genes were identified, and one gene encoding flavanone 3-hydroxylase (F3H) was functionally verified to result in naturally occurring variation in dihydrokaempferol content through genetic variations in its promoter and coding regions. The abundant data resources collected for diverse citrus germplasms here lay the foundation for complete characterization of the citrus flavonoid biosynthetic pathway and will thereby promote efficient utilization of metabolites in citrus quality improvement.

Evodia rutaecarpa (E. rutaecarpa) has been used to treat aches, vomiting and dysentery in traditional Chinese medicine. However, as a mildly toxic herb its toxic components have not been elucidated. An attempt was made to illuminate the hepatotoxic constituents of E. rutaecarpa. The 50% ethanol extracts of E. rutaecarpa from 19 different sources were used to establish UPLC fingerprints and administered to mice at a dose of 35 g/kg (crude medicine weight/mouse weight) once daily for 14 days. Serum levels of alanine transaminase, aspartate aminotransferase and liver coefficient were used as indices of liver injury. Additionally, the characteristic peaks of 19 fingerprints were identified. Spectrum-effect relationships between fingerprints and hepatotoxic indicators were analyzed using bivariate correlation analysis (BCA). The UPLC fingerprints were established and a total of 28 main compounds were identified. Because of the inherent variations in chemical compositions, the liver injury levels were different among the E. rutaecarpa samples from 19 sites of production. BCA results indicated that compounds dihydrorutaecarpine, 6-acetoxy-5-epilimonin, goshuyuamide I, 1-methyl-2-[(Z)-5-undecenyl]-4(1H)-quinolone, 1-methyl-2-[(4Z,7Z)-4,7-tridecadienyl]-4(1H)-quinolone, evocarpine and 1-methyl-2-[(6Z,9Z)-6,9-pentadecadienyl]-4(1H)-quinolone were tentatively determined as the primary hepatotoxic components. The present study provides a valuable method for the discovery of hepatotoxic constituents by combination of fingerprints and hepatotoxicity index.

Isobaric labeling-based proteomics is widely applied in deep proteome quantification. Among the platforms for isobaric labeled proteomic data analysis, the commercial software Proteome Discoverer (PD) is widely used, incorporating the search engine CHIMERYS, while FragPipe (FP) is relatively new, free for noncommercial purposes, and integrates the engine MSFragger. Here, we compared PD and FP over three public proteomic data sets labeled using 6plex, 10plex, and 16plex tandem mass tags. Our results showed the protein abundances generated by the two software are highly correlated. PD quantified more proteins (10.02%, 15.44%, 8.19%) than FP with comparable NA ratios (0.00% vs. 0.00%, 0.85% vs. 0.38%, and 11.74% vs. 10.52%) in the three data sets. Using the 16plex data set, PD and FP outputs showed high consistency in quantifying technical replicates, batch effects, and functional enrichment in differentially expressed proteins. However, FP saved 93.93%, 96.65%, and 96.41% of processing time compared to PD for analyzing the three data sets, respectively. In conclusion, while PD is a well-maintained commercial software integrating various additional functions and can quantify more proteins, FP is freely available and achieves similar output with a shorter computational time. Our results will guide users in choosing the most suitable quantification software for their needs.

Sauromatum giganteum (Engl.) Cusimano & Hett Tuber are used in Chinese folklore medicine for treatment of neoplasms. However, the claim has not been scientifically validated. The aim of the study is to screen the antitumor bioactive fraction of Sauromatum giganteum (Engl.) Cusimano & Hett Tuber and sensitive tumor cell lines using a cytotoxicity assay in vitro and tumor transplantation method in vivo, to support its use in folk medicine. The petroleum ether fraction, chloroform fraction, ethyl acetate fraction, n-butanol fraction and water fraction were successively extracted by turn by the maceration under reflux assay. Screening of antitumor bioactive fraction and sensitive cell lines were measured by MTT assay and the serum pharmacology method, and in vivo the antitumor activities of the active fraction was evaluated by using S180 or H22 tumor-bearing mice model and Kunming mice. The active constituents of ethyl acetate fraction of Sauromatum