Metabolomic Analysis Reveals the Metabolic Diversity of Wild and Cultivated Stellaria Radix ( Stellaria dichotoma L. var. lanceolata Bge.)

by Selleckchem | Mar 21 2023

Stellaria Radix, called Yinchaihu in Chinese, is a traditional Chinese medicine, which is obtained from the dried roots of Stellaria dichotoma L. var. lanceolata Bge. Cultivated yinchaihu (YCH) has become a main source of production to alleviate the shortage of wild plant resources, but it is not clear whether the metabolites of YCH change with the mode of production. In this study, the contents of methanol extracts, total sterols and total flavonoids in wild and cultivated YCH are compared. The metabolites were analyzed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The content of methanol extracts of the wild and cultivated YCH all exceeded the standard content of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. However, the contents of total sterols and total flavonoids in the wild YCH were significantly higher than those in the cultivated YCH. In total, 1586 metabolites were identified by mass spectrometry, and 97 were significantly different between the wild and cultivated sources, including β-sitosterol, quercetin derivatives as well as many newly discovered potential active components, such as trigonelline, arctiin and loganic acid. The results confirm that there is a rich diversity of metabolites in the wild and cultivated YCH, and provide a useful theoretical guidance for the evaluation of quality in the production of YCH.

Comments：

The study aimed to compare the contents of methanol extracts, total sterols and total flavonoids in wild and cultivated Yinchaihu (YCH), a traditional Chinese medicine obtained from the dried roots of Stellaria dichotoma L. var. lanceolata Bge. The metabolites of wild and cultivated YCH were analyzed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

The results of the study showed that the content of methanol extracts in both wild and cultivated YCH exceeded the standard content of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. However, the contents of total sterols and total flavonoids in the wild YCH were significantly higher than those in the cultivated YCH. This suggests that the mode of production may have an impact on the metabolites present in YCH.

The study identified a total of 1586 metabolites in YCH using mass spectrometry, and 97 of these were significantly different between the wild and cultivated sources. These included β-sitosterol, quercetin derivatives, as well as many newly discovered potential active components such as trigonelline, arctiin, and loganic acid. These findings provide a useful theoretical guidance for the evaluation of quality in the production of YCH.

In summary, the study highlights the rich diversity of metabolites in wild and cultivated YCH and suggests that the mode of production may impact the metabolites present. These findings could have important implications for the production and quality evaluation of YCH in the future.