Metabolomic analysis reveals the valuable bioactive compounds of Ardisia elliptica

Abstract

Introduction Ardisia elliptica Thunb. (Primulaceae) is a medicinal herb that is traditionally used for the treatment of fever, diarrhoea, measles and herpes. However, there is limited information regarding the correlation of its phytoconstituents with the bioactivity. Optimisation of solvent extraction is vital for maximising retention of bioactive molecules. Objective This study investigated the metabolite variations in A. elliptica leaves and the correlation with antioxidant activities. Methodology Total phenolic content (TPC), 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and nitric oxide (NO) radicals scavenging assays were performed on A. elliptica leaves extracted with four different ethanol ratios (0%, 50%, 70% and absolute ethanol). The correlation of metabolites with antioxidant activities was evaluated using a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)‐based metabolomics approach. Results The results showed that the 50% and 70% ethanolic extracts retained the highest TPC, and the 70% ethanolic extract was the most active, exhibiting half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 10.18 ± 0.83 and 43.05 ± 1.69 μg/mL, respectively, in both radical scavenging assays. A total of 46 metabolites were tentatively identified, including flavonoids, benzoquinones, triterpenes and phenolic derivatives. The 50% and 70% ethanolic extracts showed similarities in metabolites content and were well discriminated from water and absolute ethanol extracts in a principal component analysis (PCA) model. Moreover, 31 metabolites were found to contribute significantly to the differentiation and antioxidant activity. Conclusion This study provides information on bioactive compounds in A. elliptica leaves, which is promising as a functional ingredient for food production or for the development of phytomedicinal products.

Dissecting Metabolism of Leaf Nodules in Ardisia crenata and Psychotria punctata

“…Because of their diverse functions in regulating plant development and their possible roles in defense and signaling between plants and microorganisms (Mathesius, 2018) we directed our efforts at investigating and identifying flavonoids in the symbiotic plants. We observed drastically different flavonoid compositions in both plants (Calixto et al, 2016;Wong et al, 2020) as well as variations between tissue types.…”

LC–MS metabolomics analysis of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni leaves cultivated in Malaysia in relation to different developmental stages

“…The variable importance in the projection (VIP) values of the compounds were first assessed. A majority of the phenolic compounds and steviol glycosides exhibited VIP > 0.7 (Supporting Information Table S2), indicating their influential contribution in discriminating the stevia leaves in the PLS‐DA model 10 . In order to clearly observe the variation of these metabolites among the stevia samples, their distribution was visualized in two separate loading plots based on the class of metabolites, i.e., phenolic compounds and steviol glycosides.…”

“…Metabolomics has emerged as a powerful and versatile tool to study plant matrices, as it provides a direct and sensitive measure of the phenotype at the molecular level. The metabolite changes occurring in a plant metabolome arising from environmental perturbations or inherent differences in the metabolic profiles due to its natural or changed states can be easily visualized, investigated, and understood using a metabolomics approach 10,11 . The approach combines the use of advanced analytical techniques with multivariate data analysis (MVDA) for simultaneous detection of various metabolites in an untargeted or targeted manner.…”

“…The metabolite changes occurring in a plant metabolome arising from environmental perturbations or inherent differences in the metabolic profiles due to its natural or changed states can be easily visualized, investigated, and understood using a metabolomics approach. 10,11 The approach combines the use of advanced analytical techniques with multivariate data analysis (MVDA) for simultaneous detection of various metabolites in an untargeted or targeted manner. Untargeted analysis aims to analyze all the measurable metabolites in the sample, both the known and unknown ones, while targeted metabolomics focuses on a particular set of metabolites of interest.…”

Acute toxicity profiling of medicinal herb Ardisia elliptica leaf extract by conventional evaluations and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics

“…In search of toxicological data on A. elliptica , owing to its high total phenolic content, strong antioxidant and anti-hyperglycemic activities, 15 the present study aimed to evaluate the acute toxicity profile of 2000 mg/kg BW of 70% ethanolic A. elliptica leaf extract in a rat model. A combination of conventional methods, including physical, hematological, biochemical, and histopathological assessments, together with a proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H NMR)-based metabolomics approach, were employed in this study to investigate the effect of single oral administration of A. elliptica leaf extract on physiological and metabolic responses.…”