High-Resolution Magic Angle Spinning (HR-MAS) NMR-Based Fingerprints Determination in the Medicinal Plant Berberis laurina

Abstract

Berberis laurina (Berberidaceae) is a well-known medicinal plant used in traditional medicine since ancient times; however, it is scarcely studied to a large-scale fingerprint. This work presents a broad-range fingerprints determination through high-resolution magical angle spinning (HR-MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, a well-established flexible analytical method and one of most powerful “omics” platforms. It had been intended to describe a large range of chemical compositions in all plant parts. Beyond that, HR-MAS NMR allowed the direct investigation of botanical material (leaves, stems, and roots) in their natural, unaltered states, preventing molecular changes. The study revealed 17 metabolites, including caffeic acid, and berberine, a remarkable alkaloid from the genus Berberis L. The metabolic pattern changes of the leaves in the course of time were found to be seasonally dependent, probably due to the variability of seasonal and environmental trends. This metabolites overview is of great importance in understanding plant (bio)chemistry and mediating plant survival and is influenceable by interacting environmental means. Moreover, the study will be helpful in medicinal purposes, health sciences, crop evaluations, and genetic and biotechnological research.

1H HR-MAS NMR-Based Metabolomic Fingerprinting to Distinguish Morphological Similarities and Metabolic Profiles of Maytenus ilicifolia, a Brazilian Medicinal Plant

“…In quality control evaluations, global molecular fingerprinting is highly recommended over probing definite biomarker(s). , If fingerprinting is determined by the 1 H HR-MAS NMR method, it could become a gold standard tool to probe seasonal effects on plant metabolic profiles, with applications in quality control, food products, and human tissue screening, among others . However, due to the large amount of water and internal arrangements, plant tissues provide a limited possibility for the optimal molecular mobilities (tumbling) that generate anisotropic interactions, , once subjected to an external magnetic space – B 0 (Figure ).…”

NMR spectroscopy spotlighting immunogenicity induced by COVID-19 vaccination to mitigate future health concerns

“…NMR has a stand-alone contribution in uncovering the genetic variants that cause changes in phenotype and metabolism ( Rueedi et al, 2017 ). NMR applications have been extended from plant ( Ali et al, 2020 , 2021 ; Dutra et al, 2020 ) to human diseases ( Tayanloo-Beik et al, 2020 ; Fuertes-Martín and VallvéAmigó, 2020 ), viral events ( Hinkov et al, 2020 ; Sharma and Varani, 2020 ; Jaiswal et al, 2020 ), COVID-19 phenotyping ( Kimhofer et al, 2020 ), immunometabolism and metabolic pathways depiction. Based on its potential, NMR has large-scale applications in SARS-CoV-2, thus Table 1 depicts a few examples of how NMR has been applied in COVID-19 pandemic.…”

HR-MAS NMR Applications in Plant Metabolomics

“…Mucci et al studied different tissues of lemons and citrons to understand the similarities and the differences between these two fruits [ 57 ]. In addition, it is possible to use metabolic profiling to characterise newly discovered plants [ 58 , 59 ] or mutants of plants [ 39 , 60 , 61 ]. The geographical origin of sweet peppers [ 62 ], garlic [ 63 ] and cocoa beans [ 64 ] has been investigated with HR-MAS NMR.…”