Metabolomics analysis of dandelions from different geographical regions in China

Abstract

Introduction: Dandelion (Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.-Mazz.) is a perennial herb with diverse pharmacological effects. The development and utilization of dandelion have attracted much attention.Objectives: Our aims were to provide a reference basis for the identification of the origin of dandelions and to study the influence of their origin on their quality. MethodsHigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to analyze metabolites from dandelions from four different geographical regions in China, namely Gansu, Henan, Shanxi, and Jiangsu.Metabolite analysis was performed using orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis, and to identify potential metabolic pathways, MBRole was used to perform Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis.Results: Principal component analysis revealed that the chemical components of dandelions sampled from the four regions showed noticeable differences.Twenty-six, six, six, eight, eight, and fifteen differentially produced metabolites were identified upon comparison between Gansu and Jiangsu, Gansu and Shanxi, Gansu and Henan, Henan and Shanxi, Henan and Jiangsu, and Shanxi and Jiangsu, respectively. These differentially produced metabolites were mainly phenolic compounds. Further, KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that the main metabolic pathways involved were biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids and flavonoids. Conclusion:The methods reported herein can be used to identify the origin of dandelions; moreover, our results can serve as a reference basis for future studies.

Plant metabolomics: a new strategy and tool for quality evaluation of Chinese medicinal materials

“…Environmental stress generates an enhancement of these metabolic pathways, causing elevated metabolite concentrations, so the samples from Gansu has higher quality relatly. This study not only analyze the metabolite differences between samples, but also conducted the exploration of metabolic pathways to speculate on the association between climate factors and metabolites, which can be used to guide production [ 63 ].…”

The complete chloroplast genomes of Tetrastigma hemsleyanum (Vitaceae) from different regions of China: molecular structure, comparative analysis and development of DNA barcodes for its geographical origin discrimination

“…However, the geographical origin of herbal medicines has been indicated as a crucial factor influencing the quality and potential treatment efficacy of the medicinal materials, which could be attributed to the variations in the environmental conditions and genetic reasons [85]. Zhang et al [86] confirmed that there were obvious differences in chemical components of dandelions from four different geographical regions by metabolomics analysis, especially in phenolic compounds. To ensure the health benefits and clinical effectiveness of herbal medicine to consumers, it is necessary to develop strategies for the recognition of geographic origin crud drugs.…”

Characterization and Discrimination of Ophiopogonis Radix with Different Levels of Sulfur Fumigation Based on UPLC-QTOF-MS Combined Molecular Networking with Multivariate Statistical Analysis

“…At present, GNPS is widely used in metabolomics, the identification of chemical components of herbal medicines and discovery of new compounds [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. Additionally, multivariate statistical analysis, including principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), provides a credible way to evaluate the holistic variation, and identify chemical markers in distinguishing origin, different parts and processing methods of herbs [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”