Chiocchio Ilaria, De Agostini Antonio, Mandrone Manuela, Cortis Pierluigi, Tarozzi Clarissa, Poli Ferruccio, Sanna Cinzia
Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBit), Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126, Bologna, Italy.
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Via S. Ignazio da Laconi 13, 09123, Cagliari, Italy.
Nat Prod Bioprospect. 2025 Jul 16;15(1):45. doi: 10.1007/s13659-025-00526-7.
The purpose of this study was to phytochemically profile Himantoglossum robertianum leaves. In fact, despite its wide distribution and its use in traditional medicine, this orchid is still understudied and little is known about its phytochemicals.
The analyses were performed by H NMR fingerprinting, elucidated by further 2D NMR and UHPLC-MS experiments. Both primary and secondary metabolites were qualified and quantified. The study was carried out comparing six natural populations by metabolomics approach, allowing further considerations on the influence of the environment on the concentration of metabolites.
This work brings to light a surprising phytochemical parallel between H. robertianum and the medicinal orchid Gastrodia elata. In fact, the most abundant specialized metabolites resulted: gastrodigenin, gastrodin, bis(4-hydroxybenzyl)ether, parishin A, parishin C, and parishin E. Interestingly, these metabolites are all known for their potential in the treatment of neurological disorders and are, indeed, the active principles of Gastrodia elata, an important orchid used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The active metabolites were present in all the natural populations, where only slight variations in their concentration were revealed.
Mapping the metabolome of H. robertianum leaves has provided new insights into the study of orchids, including diagnostic signals for rapid identification of gastrodigenin-like compounds directly from the H NMR profile of a crude extract. From a bioprospecting perspective, finding active metabolites in leaves makes the plant source more valuable than the perennial hypogeal organs that are usually the herbal drug of orchids (i.e. G. elata).
本研究旨在对罗伯特舌唇兰叶片进行植物化学特征分析。事实上，尽管这种兰花分布广泛且在传统医学中有应用，但仍研究不足，对其植物化学物质知之甚少。
通过¹H NMR指纹图谱进行分析，并通过进一步的二维NMR和UHPLC-MS实验进行阐释。对初级和次级代谢产物均进行了定性和定量分析。该研究采用代谢组学方法对六个自然种群进行了比较，从而能够进一步考虑环境对代谢产物浓度的影响。
这项工作揭示了罗伯特舌唇兰与药用兰花天麻之间惊人的植物化学相似性。事实上，最丰富的特殊代谢产物为：天麻苷元、天麻素、双（4-羟基苄基）醚、 parishin A、 parishin C和parishin E。有趣的是，这些代谢产物均因其在治疗神经系统疾病方面的潜力而闻名，并且实际上是天麻的活性成分，天麻是一种重要的传统中药用兰花。所有自然种群中均存在这些活性代谢产物，只是其浓度略有差异。
绘制罗伯特舌唇兰叶片的代谢组图谱为兰花研究提供了新的见解，包括可直接从粗提物的¹H NMR图谱中快速鉴定天麻苷元样化合物的诊断信号。从生物勘探的角度来看，在叶片中发现活性代谢产物使这种植物来源比通常作为兰花草药的多年生地下器官（如天麻）更具价值。
