Comparative metabolomic analysis reveals the variations in taxoids and flavonoids among three Taxus species

Abstract

BackgroundTrees of the genus Taxus are highly valuable medicinal plants with multiple pharmacological effects on various cancer treatments. Paclitaxel from Taxus trees is an efficient and widely used anticancer drug, however, the accumulation of taxoids and other active ingredients can vary greatly among Taxus species. In our study, the metabolomes of three Taxus species have been investigated.ResultsA total of 2246 metabolites assigned to various primary and secondary metabolic pathways were identified using an untargeted approach. Analysis of differentially accumulated metabolites identified 358 T. media-, 220 T. cuspidata-, and 169 T. mairei-specific accumulated metabolites, respectively. By searching the metabolite pool, 7 MEP pathway precursors, 11 intermediates, side chain products and derivatives of paclitaxel, and paclitaxel itself were detected. Most precursors, initiated intermediates were highly accumulated in T. mairei, and most intermediate products approaching the end point of taxol biosynthesis pathway were primarily accumulated in T. cuspidata and T. media. Our data suggested that there were higher-efficiency pathways to paclitaxel in T. cuspidata and T. media compared with in T. mairei. As an important class of active ingredients in Taxus trees, a majority of flavonoids were predominantly accumulated in T. mairei rather than T. media and T. cuspidata. The variations in several selected taxoids and flavonoids were confirmed using a targeted approach.ConclusionsSystematic correlativity analysis identifies a number of metabolites associated with paclitaxel biosynthesis, suggesting a potential negative correlation between flavonoid metabolism and taxoid accumulation. Investigation of the variations in taxoids and other active ingredients will provide us with a deeper understanding of the interspecific differential accumulation of taxoids and an opportunity to accelerate the highest-yielding species breeding and resource utilization.

Flavonoid Components, Distribution, and Biological Activities in Taxus: A review

“…Flavanols 40 (5-deoxyleucopelargonidin) and 41 (leucopelargonidin) were rich in T. media . However, flavanol 42 (leucocyanidin) was dominant in T. mairei, and even flavanols 43 ((+)-catechin)and 44 ((-)-epicatechin) were present in greater amounts in T. yunnanensis than in T. fuana [ 7 , 53 ].…”

Metabolomics study of flavonoids in Coreopsis tinctoria of different origins by UPLC–MS/MS

“…Flavonoids acquired from medicinal plants are effective in scavenging free radicals, preventing cancer and diabetes, inhibiting inflammation, and preventing neurological and cardiovascular diseases ( Jiang et al, 2015 ; Shen et al, 2020 ). Moreover, due to their different origins or genotypes, the medicinal ingredients in medicinal plants are bound to have different properties ( Zhou et al, 2019 ; Wang et al, 2018a ; Tan et al, 2021 ). In our study, the flavonoid contents in flowers of C. tinctoria collected from three locations in the Xinjiang region at different altitudes were analyzed.…”

Role of female-predominant MYB39-bHLH13 complex in sexually dimorphic accumulation of taxol in Taxus media

“…Metabolite sampling was processed according to a published method [ 51 ]. After drying and resuspension in 50% methanol, the extracts were separated using a Waters ultraperformance liquid chromatography (UPLC) system (Hertfordshire, UK) with a BEH C18 column (100 × 2.1 mm, 1.7-μm particle size).…”