Abdelsalam Asmaa, Mahran Ehab, Mohamed Eslam T, Boroujerdi Arezue, Aly Hebatallah
Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Helwan University, Cairo, 11795, Egypt.
CAMAG Chemical Products and Adsorption Technology AG, 4132, Muttenz, Switzerland.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 23;15(1):31035. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-15234-y.
Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Delile, a medicinal tree, produces an edible fruit widely recognized in traditional medicine for its antidiabetic and liver-enhancing properties. This study investigated the metabolic changes occurring during fruit maturation using integrated nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics approaches, including 1D H (proton), 2D heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC), and 2D J-resolved NMR spectroscopy. A total of forty-five metabolites were identified and quantified, with key metabolites characterizing each maturation stage. Metabolic profiling indicated that immature fruits were characterized by elevated concentrations of amino acids, alkaloids, and organic acids, while mature fruits predominantly accumulated monosaccharides. Chemometric analyses and hierarchical clustering confirmed a significant metabolic differentiation between immature and mature fruit stages. Pathway analysis identified significant alterations predominantly in starch-sucrose metabolism, pyruvate metabolism, and the citrate cycle during maturation. Cytotoxic evaluation revealed that polar extracts from immature fruits exhibited superior cytotoxic activity against hepatocellular carcinoma cells (IC = 117.7 µg/mL) compared to mature fruit extracts (IC = 270.4 µg/mL). Molecular docking analysis further demonstrated that metabolites upregulated in immature fruits, like theophylline, showed a strong binding affinity (- 5.317 kcal/mol) to the anti-apoptotic protein BCL-2, suggesting their potential role in apoptosis regulation. This study provides insights into the metabolic dynamics during Balanites aegyptiaca fruit maturation, highlighting the superior therapeutic potential and significant cytotoxic activity of immature fruits compared to traditionally utilized mature fruits.
埃及 balanites（Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Delile）是一种药用树，其果实可食用，在传统医学中因其抗糖尿病和增强肝脏功能的特性而广为人知。本研究采用综合核磁共振（NMR）代谢组学方法，包括一维氢（质子）、二维异核单量子相干（HSQC）和二维 J 分辨核磁共振光谱，研究了果实成熟过程中发生的代谢变化。共鉴定和定量了 45 种代谢物，每个成熟阶段都有关键代谢物特征。代谢谱分析表明，未成熟果实的特征是氨基酸、生物碱和有机酸浓度升高，而成熟果实主要积累单糖。化学计量分析和层次聚类证实了未成熟和成熟果实阶段之间存在显著的代谢差异。通路分析确定成熟过程中主要在淀粉-蔗糖代谢、丙酮酸代谢和柠檬酸循环中发生了显著变化。细胞毒性评估显示，与成熟果实提取物（IC = 270.4 μg/mL）相比，未成熟果实的极性提取物对肝癌细胞表现出更强的细胞毒性活性（IC = 117.7 μg/mL）。分子对接分析进一步表明，未成熟果实中上调的代谢物，如茶碱，与抗凋亡蛋白 BCL-2 具有很强的结合亲和力（-5.317 kcal/mol），表明它们在细胞凋亡调节中的潜在作用。本研究深入了解了埃及 balanites 果实成熟过程中的代谢动态，突出了未成熟果实与传统使用的成熟果实相比具有更高的治疗潜力和显著的细胞毒性活性。
