High Throughput Profiling of Flavonoid Abundance in Agave lechuguilla Residue-Valorizing under Explored Mexican Plant

Abstract

Agave lechuguilla waste biomass (guishe) is an undervalued abundant plant material with natural active compounds such as flavonoids. Hence, the search and conservation of flavonoids through the different productive areas have to be studied to promote the use of this agro-residue for industrial purposes. In this work, we compared the proportion of total flavonoid content (TFC) among the total polyphenolics (TPC) and described the variation of specific flavonoid profiles (HPLC-UV-MS/MS) of guishe from three locations. Descriptive environmental analysis, using remote sensing, was used to understand the phytochemical variability among the productive regions. Furthermore, the effect of extractive solvent (ethanol and methanol) and storage conditions on specific flavonoid recovery were evaluated. The highest TPC (16.46 ± 1.09 GAE/g) was observed in the guishe from region 1, which also had a lower normalized difference water index (NDWI) and lower normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). In contrast, the TFC was similar in the agro-residue from the three studied areas, suggesting that TFC is not affected by the studied environmental features. The highest TFC was found in the ethanolic extracts (6.32 ± 1.66 QE/g) compared to the methanolic extracts (3.81 ± 1.14 QE/g). Additionally, the highest diversity in flavonoids was found in the ethanolic extract of guishe from region 3, which presented an intermedia NDWI and a lower NDVI. Despite the geo-climatic induced variations of the phytochemical profiles, the results confirm that guishe is a valuable raw material in terms of its flavonoid-enriched bioactive extracts. Additionally, the bioactive flavonoids remain stable when the conditioned agro-residue was hermetically stored at room temperature in the dark for nine months. Finally, the results enabled the establishment of both agro-ecological and biotechnological implications.

Hypolipidemic and Antioxidant Effects of Guishe Extract from Agave lechuguilla, a Mexican Plant with Biotechnological Potential, on Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Male Rats

“…Flavonoids present a great diversity of biological activities, such as antioxidant effects or modulation of enzymatic activity among others [28]. Among the flavonoids previously identified in guishe crude extracts, Morreeuw et al, 2021 [13,14,29], reported the aglycon flavonols (quercetin, kaempferol, and myricetin), flavanone (hesperitin and naringenin), flavanols (catechin and epicatechin), anthocyanidins (cyanidin and delphinidin), and flavones (apigenin), which are known for their antioxidant and cardioprotective benefits [30]. In addition, the presence of methylated, sulfated, gallated, and glycosylated flavonoids in guishe [13] and A. lechuguilla leaves [30] suggested high antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects of the extracts.…”

Hunting Bioactive Molecules from the Agave Genus: An Update on Extraction and Biological Potential

“…Additionally, it was observed that the presence of more than one glycoside moiety was influenced by regional factors. Therefore, those extracts that belonged to drought regions accumulated -di or -tri glycosylated flavonoids; these compounds can provide better tolerance to drought stress [30]. Other studies on other Agave species demonstrated that drought stress induced an increase in these compounds and other secondary metabolites [31,32].…”

“…Later, Morreeuw, Castillo-Quiroz, et al [30] confirmed with HPLC-MS/MS that the hydroalcoholic mixture 70:30 (v/v) of A. lechuguilla Torr. was plentiful in mono-, di-and triglycosylated derivatives of apigenin, isorhamnetin, quercetin, and anthocyanins.…”

Early Optimization Stages of Agave lechuguilla Bagasse Processing toward Biorefinement: Drying Procedure and Enzymatic Hydrolysis for Flavonoid Extraction

“…In this context, bioprospecting studies have already described the benefits of A. lechuguilla extracts as antioxidant [ 30 , 31 ], anticancer [ 32 ], feed additive [ 33 ], antiparasitic [ 34 , 35 ], antibacterial, and antifungal [ 31 , 36 , 37 ]. Among the active agents of A. lechuguilla waste biomass, phenolic compounds have been widely characterized [ 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]. The diversity of chemical structures of the flavonoids found in A. lechuguilla bagasse explain the wide range of exhibited bioactivities.…”

“…At lower concentrations, the aglycone flavonols and flavanols presented, respectively, 15.57 and 7.91 µg/g DW, and showed antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects [ 45 ]. The stated concentrations [ 40 , 41 ] and potential therapeutic effects suggest the downstream uses of the A. lechuguilla derivative products in cosmetic, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical industries. In addition, the conservation of the flavonoid profiles through the productive areas confirmed the potential of this abundant plant material for the procurement of natural bioactive ingredients for commercial applications [ 41 ].…”