¹H HR-MAS NMR-Based Metabolomic Fingerprinting to Distinguish Morphological Similarities and Metabolic Profiles of Maytenus ilicifolia, a Brazilian Medicinal Plant

Abstract

Maytenus ilicifolia or "Espinheira-Santa" is a renowned Brazilian medicinal plant usually used against intestinal and stomach ulcers. Other species with similar thorny leaves have raised great confusion in order to discern the authentic M. ilicifolia. Misidentifications can lead to product adulteration of authentic M. ilicifolia with other species, which can be found on the Brazilian market. The intake of misclassified herbal products potentially could be fatal, demanding faster reliable fingerprinting-based classification methods. In this study, the use of 1 H HR-MAS NMR metabolomics fingerprinting and principal component analysis (PCA) allowed an evaluation of the authenticity for both collected and commercial M. ilicifolia samples, from the content of the flavanol, (−)-epicatechin (2), by observing variations in metabolic patterns. Plant specimen types from cultivated and natural habitats were analyzed by considering seasonal and topological differences. The interand intraplant topological metabolic profiles were found to be affected by seasonal and/or ecological trends such as sunlight, shade, rain, and the presence of pathogens. Moreover, several commercial samples, labeled as M. ilicifolia, were evaluated, but most of these products were of an inadequate quality.T he use of medicinal plants is a foundation of folk medicine in several countries, including Brazil. Some plants offer therapeutic attributes due to the presence of various chemical compounds, and on proper use, they can treat several diseases. However, the intake of misclassified, false, or wrongly labeled unauthentic plants or their products may be fatal. Usually, false products can comprise foreign matter, toxic plant ingredients, or harmful chemical additives that can have adverse effects. 1−3 Brazil has several renowned medicinal plants from the Maytenus genus. This genus represents about 300 species, including Maytenus ilicifolia Mart. ex Reissek (Celastraceae) (synonyms: Celastrus pinifolius Larranãga; Maytenus angustior Briq.; Maytenus hassleri Briq.; Maytenus muelleri Schwacke; Maytenus off icinalis Mabb.; Maytenus pilcomayensis Briq.; and Maytenus aquifolium Mart.). This species is known popularly as "Espinheira-Santa", and it is distributed in different regions of Brazil. 4 According to the Brazilian Pharmacopeia, the leaves of this species have several marker constituents (e.g., flavonoids) and are largely consumed as an infusion (tea), as the raw material, or as extracts and capsules. 4,5 Also, M. ilicifolia and/or M. aquifolium have been cited in the "National List of Medicinal Plants of Interest to the Unified Health System (RENISUS)", and this list contains 71 medicinal plants of interest for therapeutic use by the Brazilian population. 6

NMR spectroscopy spotlighting immunogenicity induced by COVID-19 vaccination to mitigate future health concerns

“…NMR has a stand-alone contribution in uncovering the genetic variants that cause changes in phenotype and metabolism ( Rueedi et al, 2017 ). NMR applications have been extended from plant ( Ali et al, 2020 , 2021 ; Dutra et al, 2020 ) to human diseases ( Tayanloo-Beik et al, 2020 ; Fuertes-Martín and VallvéAmigó, 2020 ), viral events ( Hinkov et al, 2020 ; Sharma and Varani, 2020 ; Jaiswal et al, 2020 ), COVID-19 phenotyping ( Kimhofer et al, 2020 ), immunometabolism and metabolic pathways depiction. Based on its potential, NMR has large-scale applications in SARS-CoV-2, thus Table 1 depicts a few examples of how NMR has been applied in COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Espinheira-Santa: Do Extrativismo À Produção Sustentável

“…Daí a necessidade de maior fiscalização e controle das plantas vendidas em mercados. Alberton et al (2002) e Ali et al (2021) argumentam que existem trabalhos sendo desenvolvidos para que haja controle de qualidade da espinheira-santa de amostras comerciais. A utilização da cromatografia detecta a presença dos princípios ativos de interesse ou de adulterantes.…”

Leaf tissue metabolomics fingerprinting of Citronella gongonha Mart. by 1H HR-MAS NMR

“…Possessing smooth and marginal spiny leaves, C. gongonha produces scented and white-purple flowers that end up with oval-shaped brownish fruits. Due to the leaf morphology, this plant has close similarity to other phytotherapeutics that are usually consumed in Brazil and other countries 3 . In terms of chemically important natural products (NPs), C. gongonha Mart.…”

“…However, extraction methods cannot be easily available, and if present, they can be selective and compromised to the reliability of molecules. In line to keep molecular consistency, it is now possible to detect metabolites within an intact tissue through 1 H HR-MAS NMR spectroscopy 3 , 17 , 18 .…”

“…HR-MAS NMR is an emerged hybrid tool designed with the liquid- and solid-state skills, has a decisive role in tracking metabolites directly in composite semisolid tissues in negligible amount that made tissue metabolomics attractive 3 , 17 , 19 , 20 . In recent years, 1 H HR-MAS NMR-based tissue metabolomics has greatly assisted to tracing environmental perturbations on the plant metabolome 3 , 17 . It is worth noting to understand that the leaf tissue has a microscopically controlled heterogenous microenvironment with plentiful water.…”