Flavonoids are important secondary plant metabolites believed to be present mainly in land plants. As phenolics were detected previously in microalgae using photometric assays, we wanted to investigate the nature of these phenolics and verify whether flavonoids are present. Therefore, in this study, we used state-of-the-art ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-two-dimensional mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) technology to investigate whether microalgae also contain flavonoids. For this, representative microalgal biomass samples from divergent evolutionary lineages (Cyanobacteria, Rhodophyta, Chlorophyta, Haptophyta, Ochrophyta) were screened for a set of carefully selected precursors, intermediates, and end products of the flavonoid biosynthesis pathways. Our data unequivocally showed that microalgae contain a wide range of flavonoids and thus must possess the enzyme pool required for their biosynthesis. Further, some of the microalgae displayed an intricate flavonoid pattern that is compatible with the established basic flavonoid pathway as observed in higher plants. This implies that the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway arose much earlier in evolution compared to what is generally accepted.
Filipendula ulmaria (meadowsweet) is traditionally used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and as a diuretic and antirheumatic. Extracts of Filipendulae herba are on the market in the European Union as food supplements. Nevertheless, its active constituents remain to be revealed. During this study, the phytochemical composition of Filipendulae Ulmariae Herba was comprehensively characterised for the first time with two complementary generic ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array-accurate mass mass spectrometry methods. Selective ion fragmentation experiments with a hybrid quadrupole-orbital trap mass spectrometer significantly contributed to compound identification: a total of 119 compounds were tentatively identified, 69 new to F. ulmaria. A rich diversity of phenolic constituents was detected and only a few non-phenolic phytochemicals were observed. Metabolisation and pharmacological studies should be conducted to investigate which of these constituents or metabolites there of contribute to the activity of F. ulmaria after oral intake.
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