Li Yanhong, Wang Shengyan, Zhao Qing, Wang Qian, Yang Zufan, Jia Qiangqiang
Department of Pharmacy, Medical College, Qinghai University, Xining, 810016, China.
State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining, 810016, China.
Sci Rep. 2025 May 3;15(1):15507. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-00445-0.
Nitraria berry, a traditional Chinese medicine, is harvested when ripe and then dried in the sun as medicine. Three species of Nitraria have attracted more attention in the pharmaceutical field: Nitraria tangutorum Bobr. (NT), Nitraria sibirica Pall. (NS) and Nitraria roborowskii Kom. (NR). However, the differences in chemical composition and the corresponding metabolic mechanisms of the three species of berries has not been reported. This study combined metabolomics and transcriptomics to explore the differences among three species of Nitraria berries. The results indicate that different metabolites (DMs) and different expressed genes (DEGs) are mainly enriched in the biosynthetic pathways of anthocyanins and flavonoids. 4 petunidins and 2 isorhamnetins were significantly accumulated in the NR, while 4 cyanidins and 3 kaempferols were significantly accumulated in the NS and NT. The transcriptomics results show that the biosynthesis of flavonoids (including anthocyanins) in Nitraria berry may be regulated by 10 structure genes, including 5 PAL, 2 4CL, CHI, 2 F3'H. Based on this, a network metabolic map for flavonoids was constructed, and a correlation analysis was performed between major DMs and DEGs. Overall, this study provides the theoretical basis and development suggestions for the comprehensive utilization and in-depth development of Nitraria berries.
白刺果是一种传统中药，成熟时采收，然后晒干入药。三种白刺属植物在药学领域受到了更多关注：唐古特白刺（NT）、西伯利亚白刺（NS）和罗布白刺（NR）。然而，这三种白刺果的化学成分差异及其相应的代谢机制尚未见报道。本研究结合代谢组学和转录组学来探究三种白刺果之间的差异。结果表明，不同代谢产物（DMs）和差异表达基因（DEGs）主要富集在花青素和黄酮类化合物的生物合成途径中。4种矮牵牛色素和2种异鼠李素在NR中显著积累，而4种矢车菊色素和3种山奈酚在NS和NT中显著积累。转录组学结果表明，白刺果中黄酮类化合物（包括花青素）的生物合成可能受10个结构基因调控，包括5个苯丙氨酸解氨酶（PAL）、2个4-香豆酸辅酶A连接酶（4CL）、查尔酮异构酶（CHI）、2个黄酮-3'-羟化酶（F3'H）。基于此，构建了黄酮类化合物的网络代谢图谱，并对主要DMs和DEGs进行了相关性分析。总体而言，本研究为白刺果的综合利用和深入开发提供了理论依据和发展建议。
