Antifungal Activity of Ramulus cinnamomi Explored by ¹H-NMR Based Metabolomics Approach

A ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based approach to metabolomics combined bioassay was used to elucidate the antifungal activity of cinnamaldehyde (the main active compound of Ramulus cinnamomi) isolated from Ramulus cinnamomi (RC). Orthogonal signal correction partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OSC-PLS-DA) of NMR data was constructed to analyze all the P. italicum data acquired from the control and treatment groups at 4, 8, and 12 h. Metabolic profiles disclosed metabolic changes that were related to the antifungal effects of cinnamaldehyde against P. italicum including oxidative stress, disorder of energy metabolism, amino acids, and nucleic acids metabolism in treatment group. This integrated metabolomics approach provided an effective way to detect the antifungal effects of cinnamaldehyde against P. italicum dynamically.