A Complete Survey of Glycoalkaloids Using LC-FTICR-MS and IRMPD in a Commercial Variety and a Local Landrace of Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) and their Anticholinesterase and Antioxidant Activities

Abstract

Eggplant contains glycoalkaloids (GAs), a class of nitrogen-containing secondary metabolites of great structural variety that may have both adverse and beneficial biological effects. In this study, we performed a complete survey of GAs and their malonylated form, in two genotypes of eggplants: A commercial cultivated type, Mirabella (Mir), with purple peel and bitter taste and a local landrace, named Melanzana Bianca di Senise (Sen), characterized by white peel with purple strip and a typical sweet aroma. Besides the analysis of their morphological traits, nineteen glycoalkaloids were tentatively identified in eggplant berry extracts based upon LC-ESI-FTICR-MS analysis using retention times, elution orders, high-resolution mass spectra, as well as high-resolution fragmentation by IRMPD. The relative signal intensities (i.e., ion counts) of the GAs identified in Mir and Sen pulp extracts showed as solamargine, and its isomers are the most abundant. In addition, anticholinesterase and antioxidant activities of the extracts were evaluated. Pulp tissue was found to be more active in inhibiting acetylcholinesterase enzyme than peel showing an inhibitory effect higher than 20% for Mir pulp. The identification of new malonylated GAs in eggplant is proposed.

An Eggplant Recombinant Inbred Population Allows the Discovery of Metabolic QTLs Controlling Fruit Nutritional Quality

“…Solasonine, a compound also synthesized from the same precursor of solasodine, showed comparable levels in the two parental lines and largely increased levels in the F1 hybrid, suggesting overdominance. Downstream of solamargine, we identified malonyl-solamargine (Wu et al, 2009;Lelario et al, 2019), which showed higher levels of accumulation in the F1 hybrid compared to both parental lines, again suggesting overdominance. On the other hand, pseudoprotodioscin, a steroidal saponin synthesized from the first precursor of SGAs (Cardenas et al, 2015), was detected in both the flesh and peel, was 3.6-to 8.6-fold higher in the "305E40" parent, and was shown to be recessive or semidominant in the F1 hybrid.…”

Biological Activities of Alkaloids: From Toxicology to Pharmacology

“…Thus, many studies deal with curative aspects of alkaloids and their mode of action. Mahonia aquifolia, Meconopsis cambrica, Corydalis lutea, Dicentra spectabilis, Fumaria officinalis, and Macleaya cordata plant extracts showed cytotoxic activity against the tested human squamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma cells [1]. The extracts obtained from the stem bark of Rutidea parviflora (R. parviflora) revealed significant cytotoxic activity against ovarian cancer.…”

“…This is due to the very high number of alkaloids produced by many different organisms, mostly plants, diffused all over the world. Therefore, the identification, characterization, and quantification of alkaloids present in plant species and their parts is very important and brings interesting data [1,2]. The spectrum of alkaloids' activity is also very wide.…”

Analytical Methods for Extraction and Identification of Primary and Secondary Metabolites of Apple (Malus domestica) Fruits: A Review

“…Considering these difficulties, in many cases, it is necessary to use a more sensitive and selective detector such as a mass spectrometer to an LC system (LC-MS), as it allows unequivocal identification of the analytes thanks to the possibility to conduct MS/MS experiments [95,109,[123][124][125][126]. Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) or tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) are among the most widely used techniques for the analysis of polyphenols occurring in apple fruits [127][128][129][130][131].…”