Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) profiling reveals substantial metabolome diversity in seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) berries originating from different geographical regions in the Indian Himalayas

Abstract

Introduction Seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) is a high‐altitude plant with immense medicinal, nutritional, and therapeutic value. Earlier studies have documented the presence of various useful bioactive substances in this species; however, comprehensive metabolome profiling of seabuckthorn berries originating from different regions of the Indian Himalayas has not been undertaken. Objective Metabolomic profiling of seabuckthorn berries originating from different geographical sites in the Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir regions of the Indian Himalayas was performed by using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Materials and methods The GC–MS metabolome profiles of seabuckthorn berries collected from different sites (altitude 1,400–4,270 m; average temperature 8°C–27°C) were subjected to multivariate analysis following principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis. Results The GC–MS results showed substantial variability for berry metabolites, including fatty acids, alkyl ethers, and alkyl esters. Fatty acids and their esters were mainly responsible for the variation in the berry metabolome. The metabolite expression profile heat map revealed two distinct groups of seabuckthorn berries originating from Himachal Pradesh (Lahaul and Spiti) and Jammu & Kashmir (Leh, Nubra, and Kargil), the former showing higher expression of metabolites. Interestingly, a strong negative association existed between altitude and the amounts of metabolites such as amides, alkyl esters, alcohols, sugars, and sugar esters. In contrast, temperature showed a strong positive association with ketone and alkyl ether levels. Conclusion GC–MS profiling provides important phytochemical indicators to distinguish between seabuckthorn berries from different geographical sites. Our metabolome profiling analysis generated valuable information that will be useful in the formulation of various seabuckthorn products, benefiting farmers and industries.

Modern Analytical Techniques for Berry Authentication

“…Aside from grape berries, volatile components from other berries such as lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) [38], sea buckthorn berry (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) [39,40], elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.) [41], Madeira blueberry (Vaccinium padifolium L.) [42], and goji berry (Lycium barbarum L.) [43,44] were also assessed, in order to determine their authenticity. Accordingly, [38] analyzed triterpenoids in lingonberry (V. vitis-idaea L.) fruits and leaves from Finland and Poland using GC-FID and GC-MS.…”

“…The predominant compounds were reported as ethyl esters of 2-methylbutanoic acid, 3-methylbutanoic acid, hexanoic acid, octanoic acid, butanoic acid, 3-methylbutyl 3-methylbutanoate, 3-methylbutyl 2-methylbutanoate, and benzoic acid ethyl ester. Singh and Sharma [40] also performed GC-MS analysis for metabolic profiling of sea buckthorn berries from the Himachal Pradesh (Lahaul and Spiti) and Jammu and Kashmir (Leh, Nubra, and Kargil) regions of the Indian Himalayas. The heat map of metabolite expression profiles clearly showed two separate clusters of sea buckthorn berries, one originating from Himachal Pradesh and the other from Jammu and Kashmir.…”

“…GC-MS and PCA, HCA Amides, alkyl esters, alcohols, sugars, sugar esters, ketone, alkyl ether. [40] GC-FID: gas chromatography-flame ionization detector; GC-IRMS: gas chromatography-isotope ratio mass spectrometry; GC-MS: gas chromatography-mass spectrometry; GC-qMS: gas chromatography-quadrupole mass spectrometry; GCXGC-TOF-MS: two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry; HS-SPME: headspace-solid phase microextraction; LDA: linear discrimination analysis; PCA: principal component analysis; PLS: partial least-squares; PLS-DA: partial least squares-discriminant analysis; PLSR: partial least squares regression.…”

Quality control of Ganoderma lucidum by using C, H, O, and N stable isotopes and C and N contents for geographical traceability

“…The authors are aware that numerous chemical strategies based on chromatographic and spectral analysis methodologies have been developed for determining the geographical origin and applied to a range of TCM, such as techniques based on FT-NIR, UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS, GC-MS, and LC-MS ( Chen et al., 2008 ; Fu et al., 2017 ; Zhao et al., 2021 ; Singh et al., 2022 ). However, they cannot effectively distinguish the geographic origin of TCM due to insufficient compound information.…”

Comparative quantitative analysis of fruit oil from Hippophae rhamnoides (seabuckthorn) by qNMR, FTIR and GC–MS

“…Glycerol can be esterified by single or different fatty acid molecules ( Barison et al, 2010 , Matthäus, 2010 ). The composition of oils is traditionally determined by GC and GC–MS, where TAGs are hydrolysed to fatty acids and then esterified to their methyl esters ( Singh & Sharma, 2022 ). SBT oils are available in the market with label claims as omega fatty acids for health benefits.…”