Comparison of Secondary Metabolite Contents and Metabolic Profiles of Six Lycoris Species

Abstract

Quantitative HPLC analysis was performed on six different species of Lycoris herbs to investigate variation in phytochemical content, especially galantamine and phenylpropanoid-derived compounds. The contents of these compounds differed widely among the Lycoris species, with L. radiata and L. chinensis containing the lowest and highest galantamine contents, respectively. Specifically, the galantamine content of L. radiata was 62.5% higher than that of L. chinensis. Following L. radiata, L. sanguinea contained the next highest galantamine content, which was 59.1% higher than that of L. chinensis. Furthermore, a total of 12 phenylpropanoid-derived compounds were found in the different Lycoris species, where L. sanguinea, L. squamigera, and L. uydoensis had the largest accumulation of these compounds. The total phenylpropanoid content of L. sanguinea was the highest, while that of L. radiata was the lowest. Seven of the phenylpropanoid-derived compounds, rutin, quercetin, catechin, epicatechin gallate, chlorogenic acid, benzoic acid, and kaempferol, were dominant. L. sanguinea, L. uydoensis, and L. squamigera showed amounts of these seven compounds that were 5–6 times greater than those of the other species in the study. To the best of our knowledge, our results provide the most detailed phytochemical information on these species to date, which is valuable for future applications using these medicinal plants.

Identification and Characterization of Major Flavonoids in Extracts from an Unexplored Medicinal Herb Orostachys fimbriata

“…Several previous studies have identified and quantified these three flavonoids in medicinal herbs. Yeo et al [29] reported that the epicatechin gallate, quercetin, and kaempferol contents of Lycoris chejuensis were 49 mg, 108 mg, and 38 mg per 1000 g biomass, respectively. In the case of the holly leaf, an herbal medicine, it contains 100 mg of kaempferol per 1000 g biomass [30].…”

Establishing a Virus-Induced Gene Silencing System in Lycoris chinensis

“…As an important class of bulbous flowers, they also have low environmental requirements and strong adaptability, making them a good choice for landscaping [2]. In addition, the bulbs contain a large number of alkaloid compounds, which have anti-malarial and anti-tumor effects and are a treatment for senile dementia [3,4], so the plants also have important medicinal value. Due to the great ornamental and medicinal value of Lycoris, more and more transcriptomic data have been provided, and functional genes related to excellent breeding traits have been identified [5][6][7][8].…”