The Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcriptome as a mirror of phytochemical variation in complex extracts of Equisetum arvense from America, China, Europe and India

Abstract

BackgroundPattern-oriented chemical profiling is increasingly being used to characterize the phytochemical composition of herbal medicines for quality control purposes. Ideally, a fingerprint of the biological effects should complement the chemical fingerprint. For ethical and practical reasons it is not possible to test each herbal extract in laboratory animals or humans. What is needed is a test system consisting of an organism with relevant biology and complexity that can serve as a surrogate in vitro system. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcriptome might be used as an indicator of phytochemical variation of closely-related yet distinctly different extracts prepared from a single species of a phytogeographically widely distributed medicinal plant. We combined phytochemical profiling using chromatographic methods (HPTLC, HPLC-PDA-MS/MS) and gene expression studies using Affymetrix Yeast 2.0 gene chip with principal component analysis and k-nearest neighbor clustering analysis to test this hypothesis using extracts prepared from the phytogeographically widely distributed medicinal plant Equisetum arvense as a test case.ResultsWe found that the Equisetum arvense extracts exhibited qualitative and quantitative differences in their phytochemical composition grouped along their phytogeographical origin. Exposure of yeast to the extracts led to changes in gene expression that reflected both the similarities and differences in the phytochemical composition of the extracts. The Equisetum arvense extracts elicited changes in the expression of genes involved in mRNA translation, drug transport, metabolism of energy reserves, phospholipid metabolism, and the cellular stress response.ConclusionsOur data show that functional genomics in S. cerevisiae may be developed as a sensitive bioassay for the scientific investigation of the interplay between phytochemical composition and transcriptional effects of complex mixtures of chemical compounds. S. cerevisiae transcriptomics may also be developed for testing of mixtures of conventional drugs (“polypills”) to discover novel antagonistic or synergistic effects of those drug combinations.

Combining metabolomic analysis and microarray gene expression analysis in the characterization of the medicinal plant Chelidonium majus L

“…For Equisetum arvense derived from different origins, discriminatory results in hierarchical cluster analysis of gene expression profiling in Saccharomyces cerevisiae were observed (Cook et al, 2013). Discriminatory expression profiles in blood samples and subsequent different mode of actions were also observed in rats after their treatment with different fractions of a Salix spec.…”

An in vitro study of anti-inflammatory activity of standardised Andrographis paniculata extracts and pure andrographolide

“…We used the package ‘msProcess’ [ 56 ] (R Project) for Statistical Computing [ 57 ] to remove instrumental noise and baseline drift from the chromatograms as described in detail previously [ 58 ].…”

“…We performed the DPPH (2,2-di(4-tert-octylphenyl)-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging capacity, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and the total phenol assay (Folin-Ciocalteu assay; FC) on the extracts as reported in detail previously [ 58 , 59 ].…”

An overview of recent developments in metabolomics and proteomics – phytotherapic research perspectives

“…Considerable variability based on total phenols and flavonoids was ascertained among different tea brands. Cook et al (2013) also performed PCAs and k-nearest neighbor clustering analysis based on the phytochemical profile of Equisetum arvense extract and reported quantitative and qualitative differentiation among Equisetum arvense extracts based on their phytochemical profile in addition to their phytogeographical origin. Metabolomics, a biomarkers-based approach, is therefore playing its pivotal role in the strengthening of existing pharmacological knowledge with new findings by exploring the metabolite profiles of various herbal drugs/products involved in the therapeutic treatment of certain diseases.…”