Metabolome analysis of genus Forsythia related constituents in Forsythia suspensa leaves and fruits using UPLC-ESI-QQQ-MS/MS technique

Abstract

Forsythia suspensa is a traditional Chinese herb. Its numerous metabolites have important roles, as they possessed a wide range of biological activities. This study explored the accumulations of F. suspensa metabolites by performing widely targeted metabolomic analysis. The metabolites were studied at four stages of fruit development. Metabolites in the fruits and leaves of F. suspensa during fruit development included phenolic acids, flavonoids, lipids, lignans and coumarins, amino acids and their derivatives, terpenes, organic acids, nucleotides and their derivatives, alkaloids, quinones, steroids, and tannins. Fourteen Forsythia related metabolites were detected. Their contents varied among the developmental stages. Statistically significant correlations were found between the levels of forsythoside B and 11-methyl-forsythide, and forsythialan B and phillygenin, in both leaves and fruits. According to the correlation analysis between metabolites, Forsythia related metabolites were divided into two classes and five subclasses. In total, 33 compounds presented significant correlations in both fruits and leaves, which indicated the potential relationship in the synthesis of Forsythia related metabolites. Forsythialan B and phillygenin were both negatively correlated with L-valine, while Z-6,7-epoxyligustilid was positively correlated with both compounds. The quality control compounds forsythiaside A and phillyrin were positively and negatively correlated with uracil, respectively. These metabolomics results may facilitate the biosynthesis of Forsythia related metabolites.

Therapeutic effect of demethylated hydroxylated phillygenin derivative on Helicobacter pylori infection

“…Demethylation modification enhances its molecular reactivity (Huan et al, 2021). PHI-Der had been prepared by removing the methyl group of the ortho-methoxy group from the phenolic hydroxyl group, but this method only removed one methyl group (Liu et al, 2022). In a previous study, the ideal molecular weight of PHI-Der was 330.33; however, mass spectrometry showed a characteristic peak at 313.32, which may be because of the unstable connection of the hydroxyl group (Hannah et al, 2022).…”

Phillygenin prevents osteoclast differentiation and bone loss by targeting RhoA

“…Recently, another study showed that the water extract of F. suspensa (WFS) has beneficial effects against aberrant osteoclast differentiation and estrogen deficiency‐induced bone loss (Hwang et al, 2019). The phytochemical profile of WFS indicated that abundant alkaloids, lignans, phenylethanoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and steroids components might attribute to anti‐osteoporotic activity (Liu et al, 2022). Among these constituents, Phillygenin (Phi) is one of the components that have not been reported in bone metabolism.…”

Intercropping with maize and sorghum‐induced saikosaponin accumulation in Bupleurum chinense DC. by liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry‐based metabolomics

“…Liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry (LC‐MS) exhibits high separation capacity and sensitivity, 16 and LC‐MS‐based plant metabolomics has been widely used in the chemical analysis of herbal medicines, such as Ginseng, 17 Forsythia suspensa , 18 Salvia Miltiorrhiza , 19 and Astragali Radix 20 . In our research, an ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography to quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐Q‐TOF‐MS) was used to characterize the chemical compounds in BR first, and then, the impact of intercropping on the chemical constituents of B. chinense was investigated by metabolomics coupled with various chemometric methods.…”