College of Pharmacy, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang 050200, China.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Processing Technology Innovation Center of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang 050200, China.
Molecules. 2024 Sep 7;29(17):4251. doi: 10.3390/molecules29174251.
Pinelliae Rhizoma (PR), a highly esteemed traditional Chinese medicinal herb, is widely applied in clinical settings due to its diverse pharmacological effects, including antitussive, expectorant, antiemetic, sedative-hypnotic, and antitumor activities. exhibits morphological variation in its leaves, with types resembling peach, bamboo, and willow leaves. However, the chemical composition differences among the corresponding rhizomes of these leaf phenotypes remain unelucidated. This pioneering research employed Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MALDI-MSI) to conduct the in situ identification and spatial profiling of 35 PR metabolites in PR, comprising 12 alkaloids, 4 organic acids, 12 amino acids, 5 flavonoids, 1 sterol, and 1 anthraquinone. Our findings revealed distinct spatial distribution patterns of secondary metabolites within the rhizome tissues of varying leaf types. Orthogonal Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA) effectively differentiated between rhizomes associated with different leaf morphologies. Furthermore, this study identified five potential differential biomarkers-methylophiopogonanone B, inosine, cytidine, adenine, and leucine/isoleucine-that elucidate the biochemical distinctions among leaf types. The precise tissue-specific localization of these secondary metabolites offers compelling insights into the specialized accumulation of bioactive compounds in medicinal plants, thereby enhancing our comprehension of PR's therapeutic potential.
半夏（Pinelliae Rhizoma，PR）是一种备受推崇的传统中药，由于其具有多种药理作用，如镇咳、祛痰、止吐、镇静催眠和抗肿瘤活性，因此在临床应用中广泛使用。它的叶子具有形态变异，有桃叶型、竹叶型和柳叶型等类型。然而，这些叶表型对应的根茎的化学成分差异仍未阐明。本研究开创性地采用基质辅助激光解吸电离质谱成像（MALDI-MSI）技术，对 PR 中的 35 种 PR 代谢物进行了原位鉴定和空间分析，其中包括 12 种生物碱、4 种有机酸、12 种氨基酸、5 种黄酮类化合物、1 种甾体和 1 种蒽醌。我们的研究结果揭示了不同叶型半夏根茎组织中次生代谢物的明显空间分布模式。正交偏最小二乘判别分析（OPLS-DA）有效地区分了不同叶型的根茎。此外，本研究还鉴定了 5 种潜在的差异生物标志物——甲基胡椒酚酮 B、肌苷、胞苷、腺嘌呤和亮氨酸/异亮氨酸，这些标志物揭示了不同叶型之间的生化差异。这些次生代谢物的精确组织特异性定位为药用植物中生物活性化合物的特异性积累提供了有力的见解，从而增强了我们对 PR 治疗潜力的理解。
