Geographic Differentiation of Essential Oil from Rhizome of Cultivated Atractylodes lancea by Using GC-MS and Chemical Pattern Recognition Analysis

Abstract

The rhizome of Atractylodes lancea (RAL) is a well-known Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) that has been applied in clinical settings for thousands of years. In the past two decades, cultivated RAL has gradually replaced wild RAL and become mainstream in clinical practice. The quality of CHM is significantly influenced by its geographical origin. To date, limited studies have compared the composition of cultivated RAL from different geographical origins. As essential oil is the primary active component of RAL, a strategy combining gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and chemical pattern recognition was first applied to compare the essential oil of RAL (RALO) from different regions in China. Total ion chromatography (TIC) revealed that RALO from different origins had a similar composition; however, the relative content of the main compounds varied significantly. In addition, 26 samples obtained from various regions were divided into three categories by hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA). Combined with the geographical location and chemical composition analysis, the producing regions of RAL were classified into three areas. The main compounds of RALO vary depending on the production areas. Furthermore, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that there were significant differences in six compounds, including modephene, caryophyllene, γ-elemene, atractylon, hinesol, and atractylodin, between the three areas. Hinesol, atractylon, and β-eudesmol were selected as the potential markers for distinguishing different areas by orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). In conclusion, by combining GC-MS with chemical pattern recognition analysis, this research has identified the chemical variations across various producing areas and developed an effective method for geographic origin tracking of cultivated RAL based on essential oils.

Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of Sesquiterpenoids from Atractylodes DC. Genus Rhizomes

“…Zhang et al [44] identified atramacronoids A-C (18)(19)(20) from the rhizomes of A. macrocephala using spectroscopic data analysis, chemical calculations, and X-ray diffraction, which were found to contain an unusual 6/6/5/5/6 skeleton furnished by an unexpected C-8-C-16 linkage. Subsequently, twenty undescribed eudesmane-type sesquiterpenes named atramacronoids D-W (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40) were identified in the rhizomes of A. macrocephala using extensive spectroscopic data analysis, Snatzke's rule, ECD calculations, and X-ray crystallographic analysis [45,46]. A chemical investigation of the ethanol extract of A. lancea resulted in the isolation of nine eudesmanetype sesquiterpenoids (41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49), and their structures were elucidated using spectroscopic techniques and HRESIMS [47].…”

“…β -eudesmol, atractylon, and hinesol are usually used as chemical markers for evaluating the quality of Atractylodes DC. in different regions [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Many studies have been conducted on Atractylodes DC.…”