School of Food and Drug, Henan Functional Cosmetics Engineering Technology Research Center, Luoyang Normal University, Luoyang, Henan, China.
Institute of Regulatory Science, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, China.
PLoS One. 2022 Sep 2;17(9):e0274013. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274013. eCollection 2022.
Paeonia lactiflflora Pall. has a long edible and medicinal history because of the very high content of biologically active compounds. However, little information is available about the metabolic basis of pharmacological values of P. lactiflora flowers. In this study, we investigated metabolites in the different parts of P. lactiflora flowers, including petal, stamen petaloid tissue and stamen, by widely targeted metabolomics approach. A total of 1102 metabolites were identified, among which 313 and 410 metabolites showed differential accumulation in comparison groups of petal vs. stamen petaloid tissue and stamen vs. stamen petaloid tissue. Differential accumulated metabolites analysis and KEGG pathway analysis showed that the flavonoids were the most critical differential metabolites. Furthermore, difference accumulation of flavonoids, phenolic acids, tannins and alkaloids might lead to the differences in antioxidant activities and tyrosinase inhibition effects. Indeed, stamen petaloid tissue displayed better antioxidant and anti-melanin production activities than petal and stamen through experimental verification. These results not only expand our understanding of metabolites in P. lactiflora flowers, but also reveal that the stamen petaloid tissues of P. lactiflora hold the great potential as promising ingredients for pharmaceuticals, functional foods and skincare products.
芍药花因其含有丰富的生物活性化合物而具有悠久的食用和药用历史。然而，关于芍药花的药理价值的代谢基础的信息却很少。在这项研究中，我们通过广泛的靶向代谢组学方法研究了芍药花不同部位（花瓣、瓣状雄蕊组织和雄蕊）中的代谢物。共鉴定出 1102 种代谢物，其中 313 种和 410 种代谢物在花瓣与瓣状雄蕊组织和雄蕊与瓣状雄蕊组织的比较组中表现出差异积累。差异积累代谢物分析和 KEGG 途径分析表明，类黄酮是最重要的差异代谢物。此外，类黄酮、酚酸、单宁和生物碱的差异积累可能导致抗氧化活性和酪氨酸酶抑制作用的差异。事实上，通过实验验证，瓣状雄蕊组织在抗氧化和抑制黑色素生成方面的活性优于花瓣和雄蕊。这些结果不仅扩展了我们对芍药花代谢物的理解，还表明芍药花的瓣状雄蕊组织具有作为药物、功能性食品和护肤品的有前途的成分的巨大潜力。
