Alkylamide Profiling of Pericarps Coupled with Chemometric Analysis to Distinguish Prickly Ash Pericarps

Abstract

Because of extensive cultivation areas, various cultivars, nonstandard naming notations, and morphology similarity among relative cultivars, adulteration and associated business fraud may happen in the marketplaces of prickly ash pericarps due to higher financial gain and high-frequency trading. This study presents variations in the chemical components and contents of different prickly ash species from different plantations. Alkylamide profiling of pericarps derived from Zanthoxylum armatum, Z. bungeanum, and some relative Zanthoxylum species from 72 plantations across China were tested using ultra-performance liquid chromatography. Then, several chemometrics were applied to classify the prickly ash pericarps to reveal potential indicators that distinguish prickly ash pericarps and to identify the key factors that affect pericarp alkylamide profiling. The dominating alkylamides in the prickly ash pericarps were Z. piperitum (ZP)-amide C (0–20.64 mg/g) and ZP-amide D (0–30.43 mg/g). Alkylamide profiling of prickly ash pericarps varied significantly across species and geographical variations. ZP-amide D in prickly ash pericarps was identified as a potential indicator to distinguish prickly ash species. Longitude and aluminum content in soils were identified as key factors that affected alkylamide profiling of prickly ash pericarps. This study provides a useful tool to classify prickly ash species based on pericarp alkylamide profiling and to determine the key influence factors on pericarp alkylamide variations.

Phytoremediation of multi-metal contaminated copper tailings with herbaceous plant and composite amendments

“…Copper tailings pH was determined by the water extraction potential method (Zhou et al, 2015), organic matter content was determined by the potassium dichromate volumetric method and external heating method (Ma et al, 2021), water content was determined by oven drying method (Quan et al, 2017), electrical conductivity (EC) of copper tailings was measured by Orion162A conductivity meter (Sukweenadhi et al, 2018), and plant chlorophyll content was determined by ethanol extraction colorimetry (Akram et al, 2016). The ultraviolet absorption method (UV-1800PC) was used for catalase activity (Cha et al, 2015), and the heavy metals in the copper tailings matrix and plant body (aboveground and underground parts) were dissolved by aqua regia re ux method and nitric acidperchloric acid method, respectively (Yao et al, 2022).…”

Volatile Oil Profile of Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum) Pericarps from Different Locations in China

“…For the determination of soil conditions, soil organic matter (OM) was detected using an external heating method with potassium dichromate concentrated sulfuric acid; the pH values in the soils (pH) were detected using a pH meter (Sartorius AG, Goettingen, Germany) in a soil: water suspension (1:2.5; v:v); the total nitrogen content in the soils (N t ) was detected using an AA3 Auto Analyzer (Seal Analytical GmbH, Norderstedt, Germany); the available nitrogen content in the soils (N a ) was detected using the alkaline hydrolysis diffusion method; the total phosphorus content (P t ) and available phosphorus content in the soils (P a ) were detected using the molybdenumantimony colorimetric method; the total potassium content (K t ) and available potassium contents in the soils (K a ) were detected using flame photometry (Shanghai Precision Science Instrument Co., Ltd. Shanghai, China); the content of aluminum (Al), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), manganese (Mn), and nickel (Ni) in the soil samples was detected using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (PerkinElmer Co., Waltham, MA, USA); and the arsenic content in the soils (As) was detected using an AFS-2100 atomic fluorescence spectrophotometer (Beijing Haiguang Instrument Co. Ltd., Beijing, China) after the digestion of mixed acids. The detailed date of location, climate, and soil has been reported in our previous articles [9,[24][25][26].…”

Antifungal compounds of Chinese prickly ash against drug-resistant Candida albicans

“…The pericarp of this plant is considered a traditional food and used in a wide range of hot pot because of its distinctive aromatic, tongue-numbing sensation, and its pungency ( Luo et al, 2021 ). Chinese prickly ash leaf, the main byproducts of Chinese prickly ash, gain increasing attention due to their unique flavor, wide sources and health-care effects ( Ma, Tian, Wang, Huang, & Wei, 2021 ). In the central part of Yunnan Province, fresh Chinese prickly ash leaf is consumed in salads, cooking, and making tea as a functional food to clear away heat, detoxicate, kill insects, relieve itching ( Wu, 2017 ).…”