Structural characterization of bioactive compounds in Cotula cinerea extracts by ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array and high‐resolution time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry detectors

Abstract

Rationale Cotula cinerea of the Asteraceae family is a traditional Moroccan plant with various biological activities such as analgesic, cytotoxic and antioxidant effects which are often related to the presence of secondary metabolites. The present work aims to screen and identify the main phytochemicals compounds of Cotula cinerea extracts. Methods A method was developed that coupled a rapid and simple ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography system with both photodiode array and high‐resolution time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry detectors (UHPLC‐PDA/TOF‐HRMS) for the identification of the main secondary metabolites of three investigated extracts (hexane, AcOEt and n‐BuOH). Results A total of 30 phytocomponents pertaining to phenolic compounds and terpenoids have been detected, identified and quantified. Among these were previously reported free and conjugated coumaric and caffeic acids along with free and conjugated flavones and flavonols with kaempferol, quercetin, luteolin and apigenin aglycones. In addition, sulfated flavonoids were identified in the investigated extracts and are reported in this work for the first time in Cotula cinerea. The obtained results have been discussed in relation to the biological activities of the corresponding extracts. Conclusions This study proposed a practical strategy for rapidly screening and identifying secondary metabolites of Cotula cinerea and provided new information on the phytochemicals of this Saharan plant. This work has therefore provided useful results for further pharmacological studies and the design of new drugs based on this species and will facilitate the utilization of Cotula cinerea in the clinic and its safety evaluation. It is also hoped that the information presented here might stimulate further studies that will possibly lead to development of therapeutic agents from this plant.

Chemical composition, antibacterial and antioxidant activities of essential oils extracted from dry and fresh Brocchia cinerea (Vis.)

“…However, the flowers are small yellow gold halves of pompoms at the end of a short stem (Lakhdar 2018). The attachment of this plant to the Asteraceae family and particularly to anthemideae tribe gives it a precious chemical composition, in which flavonoids, sesquiterpenes lactones, and the polyacetylenes were the most characteristics compounds (Adekenov 1995;Ghouti et al 2018a;Larbi et al 2018;Guaouguaou et al 2019).…”

Qualitative analysis on chemical constituents from different polarity extracted fractions of the pulp and peel of ginger rhizomes by ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time‐of‐flight tandem mass spectrometry

“…Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC/ESI-QTOF-MS) has the advantages of high sensitivity, time saving and less solvent consumption, and occupies a central position in the qualitative analysis of traditional Chinese medicines. [18][19][20][21][22][23] We have developed a method of combining UHPLC and QTOF-MS to identify the chemical constituents in different polarity extracted fractions of the pulp and peel of ginger rhizomes. In total, 36 diarylheptanoids (Figure 1) (including 7 new compounds), 25 gingerols (Figure 2) (including 2 new compounds) and 22 other compounds were identified.…”