Untargeted Metabolomics: An Emerging Approach to Determine the Composition of Herbal Products

Abstract

Natural remedies, such as those based on traditional Chinese medicines, have become more popular also in western countries over the last 10 years. The composition of these herbal products is largely unknown and difficult to determine. Moreover, since plants respond to their environment changing the metabolome, the composition of plant material can vary depending on the plant growth conditions.However, there is a growing need of a deeper knowledge on such natural remedies also in view of the growing number of reports of toxicity following the consumption of herbal supplements. Untargeted metabolomics is a useful approach for the simultaneous analysis of many compounds in herbal products. In particular, liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC-MS) can determine presence, amount and sometime structures of plant metabolites in complex herbal mixtures, with significant advantages over techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

Rapid discrimination of different Apiaceae species based on HPTLC fingerprints and targeted flavonoids determination using multivariate image analysis

“…The most widely used multivariate techniques are those based on projection. Projection methods transfer the measured variables into so‐called latent variables that can solve the problem under investigation …”

“…Projection methods transfer the measured variables into so-called latent variables that can solve the problem under investigation. 39 The fingerprint patterns were determined by using an UV detector set at wavelengths of 254, 366 nm and white light to illuminate bands on the HPTLC plate. Figure 1 shows the HPTLC profiles for each sample…”

1H and 13C NMR for the Profiling of Natural Product Extracts: Theory and Applications

“…In particular, NMR is nondestructive, unbiased, quantitative, does not require separation or derivatization, and is amenable to compounds that are difficult to analyze by GC-MS and LC-MS. For example, GC-MS often requires derivatization of compounds, such as sugars and amines. LC-MS, on the other hand, generally requires sample preparation, chromatographic separation, specific experimental and ionization conditions, instrumentation and operator skill [2]. These make it difficult to standardize MS analysis.…”

Understanding Camellia sinensis using Omics Technologies along with Endophytic Bacteria and Environmental Roles on Metabolism: A Review

“…The huge bioinformatics database of various plant species has been rapidly accumulated and is widely used for molecular analyses of secondary metabolism, abiotic stress tolerance, and so on. Plants provide teas to human consumption, and about 80% of the worldwide population relies on traditional teas for primary health care, especially in Asian and African countries [7]. Green tea contains about 4000 bioactive compounds, of which polyphenols represented one-third [8].…”