Plant Physiology Unit, Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Via Quarello 15/a, 10135 Turin, Italy.
Molecules. 2019 Mar 15;24(6):1032. doi: 10.3390/molecules24061032.
Baill. (Caesalpiniaceae) is a medicinal plant whose seeds are widely used in traditional medicine for their high content of 5-hydroxy-l-tryptophan (5-HTP), a direct precursor and enhancer of the activity of the brain hormone serotonin (5-HT). The plant extracts are used in dietary supplements aimed to alleviate serotonin-related disorders.
In order to characterize the chemical components of seeds and their identity, we used a combined methodology by using HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS for the qualitative and quantitative determination of the -containing compounds, GC-FID and GC-MS for the characterization of the major fatty acids, and DNA fingerprinting based on PCR⁻RFLP for the unequivocal identification of the plant.
5-HTP was the most representative compound, followed by lower percentages of the β-carboline alkaloid derivative griffonine and other alkaloids. Fatty acids were dominated by the unsaturated fatty acids linoleic acid and oleic acid, followed by the saturated fatty acids stearic and palmitic acids. PCR analysis of the internal transcribed spacer amplified sequence showed a major band at about 758 bp, whereas the PCR⁻RFLP analysis of this sequence using three different restriction enzymes (, , and ) generated a specific fingerprinting useful for the plant identification.
The combined chemical and molecular analysis of provided an interesting integrated approach for the unequivocal identification of commercial seeds.
Baill.（苏木科）是一种药用植物，其种子因含有大量 5-羟基色氨酸（5-HTP）而被广泛用于传统医学，5-HTP 是脑激素血清素（5-HT）的直接前体和增强剂。植物提取物被用于旨在缓解与血清素相关的疾病的膳食补充剂中。
为了表征种子的化学成分及其特征，我们采用了一种组合方法，使用 HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS 进行含有的化合物的定性和定量测定，使用 GC-FID 和 GC-MS 进行主要脂肪酸的特征描述，以及基于 PCR-RFLP 的 DNA 指纹图谱进行植物的明确鉴定。
5-HTP 是最具代表性的化合物，其次是 β-咔啉生物碱衍生物格里芬宁和其他生物碱的含量较低。脂肪酸以不饱和脂肪酸亚油酸和油酸为主，其次是饱和脂肪酸硬脂酸和棕榈酸。内转录间隔区扩增序列的 PCR 分析显示约 758bp 的主要带，而使用三种不同的限制酶（、和）对该序列进行的 PCR-RFLP 分析生成了一种特定的指纹图谱，可用于植物鉴定。
对 Baill. 的综合化学和分子分析为商业种子的明确鉴定提供了一种有趣的综合方法。
