Systematic identification of characteristic chemical constituents in Cistanches Herba from saline-alkali land based on hierarchical filtering of mass spectrometry data and spatial metabolomics technology.
8 affiliations
- 1School of Pharmacy & Institute of Materia Medica, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, 250117, Shandong, China.
- 2Shandong Xiandai University, Jinan, 250104, Shandong, China.
- 3Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, 301617, China.
- 4Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, 250014, Shandong, China.
- 5School of Pharmacy & Institute of Materia Medica, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, 250117, Shandong, China. [email protected].
- 6School of Pharmacy & Institute of Materia Medica, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, 250117, Shandong, China. [email protected].
- 7Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences Institute of Crop Germplasm Resources, Jinan, 250100, Shandong, China. [email protected].
- 8School of Pharmacy & Institute of Materia Medica, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, 250117, Shandong, China. [email protected].
Abstract
Background
The traditional habitat of the Chinese medicinal plant Cistanches Herba (CH) is the deserts of northwestern China. Recently, CH cultivation has been introduced to saline-alkali land (SAL) in the Yellow River delta region. However, the effects of this SAL environment on the accumulation of secondary metabolites in CH remain unclear.Objective
This research aims to systematically characterize the chemical profiles of CH grown in SAL and to identify key chemical markers associated with the SAL environment.Methods
CH samples were collected from both SAL and traditional sandy land (SL). Untargeted metabolomics was performed using ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS) to characterize the global metabolic profiles of CH from two habitats. Chemical markers associated with SAL environments were screened via weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), targeted quantification by ultra performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-TQ-MS), and compound loading contributions of principal component analysis (PCA). Subsequently, desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging (DESI-MSI) was employed to visualize the in situ spatial distribution of partial screened constituents in mouse organs.Results
Untargeted UPLC-QTOF-MS metabolomics identified 74 chemical constituents from CH samples, including 40 phenylethanoid glycosides, 13 iridoid glycosides, 9 lignans, and other minor constituents. Orthogonal projections to latent structures-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) clearly separated the SAL and SL sample groups, with 30 constituents showing prominent contributions to the discrimination. WGCNA revealed 23 metabolites correlated with SAL. By integrating these two screening methods, 12 constituents were preliminarily selected as candidate markers associated with SAL. Subsequently, combining PCA loading coefficients (with the PCA model validated by Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett's sphericity tests) and targeted UPLC-TQ-MS quantification, 4 constituents-verbascoside, echinacoside, isoacteoside, and pinoresinol- were ultimately identified as characteristic chemical markers, all exhibiting significantly higher levels in SAL samples. DESI-MSI results further demonstrated that echinacoside predominantly accumulated in brain tissue, whereas verbascoside or isoacteoside displayed the strongest ion signal in the lung.Conclusion
This study developed an integrated strategy that combines hierarchical filtering of mass spectrometry data to successfully identify 4 characteristic chemical markers of CH associated with SAL. This strategy provides a scientific basis for future quality control and resource development.
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BibTeX
@article{li2026systematic,
title = {{Systematic identification of characteristic chemical constituents in Cistanches Herba from saline-alkali land based on hierarchical filtering of mass spectrometry data and spatial metabolomics technology.}},
author = {Mengjiao Li and Yaqi Wang and Chenghao Bi and Ruifen Wang and Fengdan Guo and Guiqing Shen and Zihan Hu and Kairui Liu and Xinrui Li and Renwei Guan and Songsong Wang and Hao Zhong and Xingjun Wang and Liwen Han},
journal = {Chinese medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1186/s13020-026-01526-6},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42897583},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Systematic identification of characteristic chemical constituents in Cistanches Herba from saline-alkali land based on hierarchical filtering of mass spectrometry data and spatial metabolomics technology.
AU - Mengjiao Li
AU - Yaqi Wang
AU - Chenghao Bi
AU - Ruifen Wang
AU - Fengdan Guo
AU - Guiqing Shen
AU - Zihan Hu
AU - Kairui Liu
AU - Xinrui Li
AU - Renwei Guan
AU - Songsong Wang
AU - Hao Zhong
AU - Xingjun Wang
AU - Liwen Han
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
JO - Chinese medicine
DO - 10.1186/s13020-026-01526-6
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42897583
AB - Background The traditional habitat of the Chinese medicinal plant Cistanches Herba (CH) is the deserts of northwestern China. Recently, CH cultivation has been introduced to saline-alkali land (SAL) in the Yellow River delta region. However, the effects of this SAL environment on the accumulation of secondary metabolites in CH remain unclear.Objective This research aims to systematically characterize the chemical profiles of CH grown in SAL and to identify key chemical markers associated with the SAL environment.Methods CH samples were collected from both SAL and traditional sandy land (SL). Untargeted metabolomics was performed using ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS) to characterize the global metabolic profiles of CH from two habitats. Chemical markers associated with SAL environments were screened via weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), targeted quantification by ultra performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-TQ-MS), and compound loading contributions of principal component analysis (PCA). Subsequently, desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging (DESI-MSI) was employed to visualize the in situ spatial distribution of partial screened constituents in mouse organs.Results Untargeted UPLC-QTOF-MS metabolomics identified 74 chemical constituents from CH samples, including 40 phenylethanoid glycosides, 13 iridoid glycosides, 9 lignans, and other minor constituents. Orthogonal projections to latent structures-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) clearly separated the SAL and SL sample groups, with 30 constituents showing prominent contributions to the discrimination. WGCNA revealed 23 metabolites correlated with SAL. By integrating these two screening methods, 12 constituents were preliminarily selected as candidate markers associated with SAL. Subsequently, combining PCA loading coefficients (with the PCA model validated by Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett's sphericity tests) and targeted UPLC-TQ-MS quantification, 4 constituents-verbascoside, echinacoside, isoacteoside, and pinoresinol- were ultimately identified as characteristic chemical markers, all exhibiting significantly higher levels in SAL samples. DESI-MSI results further demonstrated that echinacoside predominantly accumulated in brain tissue, whereas verbascoside or isoacteoside displayed the strongest ion signal in the lung.Conclusion This study developed an integrated strategy that combines hierarchical filtering of mass spectrometry data to successfully identify 4 characteristic chemical markers of CH associated with SAL. This strategy provides a scientific basis for future quality control and resource development.
SN - 1749-8546
ER -