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Updated: Jul 12, 2026
Untargeted Metabolomics from Biological Sources Using Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-HRMS)
Published on: May 20, 2013
Comprehensive Chemical Profiling and Quantitative Determination of Solanum americanum Mill. and S. nigrum Linn.
Lingyi Xin1,2,3, Xuemei Wei2, Renyan Liu2,4
1Shenzhen Clinical College of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Abstract:
Solanum americanum Mill. and S. nigrum Linn. are traditional Solanaceae-derived herbal medicines. Their sprouts and mature fruits are utilized as both vegetables and medicinal herbs. Although S. americanum Mill. is classified as a primary variety of S. nigrum Linn., significant pharmacological variations and incompletely characterized phytochemical profiles differentiate their applications. In this study, UHPLC/LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (HRMS) (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA), assisted with feature-based molecular networking, was applied for in-depth profiling of S. americanum Mill. and S. nigrum Linn. With the help of feature-based molecular networking, five clusters were characterized, including flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, fatty acids, alkaloids, and steroids. S. americanum Mill. demonstrated markedly higher relative abundance in flavanols than S. nigrum Linn., potentially elucidating its distinct antioxidant activity and its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial efficacy. In addition, metabolomics coupled with multivariate analyses screened and identified 16 discriminative chemical markers enabling differentiation between S. americanum Mill. and S. nigrum Linn. Building on the above, to elucidate the chemical basis underlying their distinct pharmacological activities, we quantified 13 identified key differential constituents of S. americanum Mill. and S. nigrum Linn. extracts by UHPLC-QTRAP-MS/MS using the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The average contents of isoquercitrin, rutin, protocatechuic acid, and chlorogenic acid in S. americanum Mill. are significantly higher than those in S. nigrum Linn., suggesting that these components may serve as potential quality markers for S. americanum Mill. This study elucidates the chemical basis underlying S. americanum Mill. and S. nigrum Linn.'s pharmacological activity differences, establishes quality control tools, and supports S. americanum Mill.'s rational utilization in herbal medicine development.
