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Crop domestication is often accompanied by changes in metabolite compositions that alter traits such as flavor, color, or other beneficial properties. Fruits of eggplants (Solanum melongena L.) and related species are abundant and diverse in pharmacologically interesting phenolic compounds, particularly hydroxycinnamic acid (HCA) conjugates such as the antioxidant caffeoylquinic acids (CQA) and HCA-polyamine amides (HCAA). To understand metabolite variability through the lens of natural and artificial selection, HPLC-DAD was used to generate phenolic profiles for 32 compounds in fruits from 93 accessions representing 9 Solanum species. Profiles were used for identification of species-level and infraspecific chemical patterns across both genetic distance and landscape. Sampling of plant lines included the undomesticated progenitor of eggplant and Asian landraces with a genetic background associated with three Asian regions near proposed separate centers of domestication to test whether chemical changes were convergent despite different origins. Results showed ten compounds were unique to species, and ten other compounds varied significantly in abundance among species. Five CQAs and three HCA-polyamine conjugates were more abundant in wild (undomesticated) versus domesticated eggplant, indicating that artificial selection may have led to reduced phenolic levels. No chemical abundance patterns were associated with site-origin. However, one genetically distinct lineage of geographically-restricted SE Asian eggplants (S. melongena subsp. ovigerum) had a higher HCAA content and diversity than other lineages, which is suggested to be related to artificial selection for small, firm fruit. Overall, patterns show that fruit size, palatability and texture were preferentially selected over health-beneficial phytochemical content during domestication of several nightshade crops., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Eight compounds including four caffeoyl phenylpropanoid glycosides, jasnervosides A-D (1-4), one monoterpenoid glycoside, jasnervoside E (5), and three secoiridoid glycosides, jasnervosides F-H (10-12), were isolated from the stems of Jasminum nervosum Lour. (Oleaceae), along with four known compounds, poliumoside (6), verbascoside (7), α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→3)-O-(α-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1→6)-1-O-E-caffeoyl-β-d-glucopyranoside (8), and jaspolyanthoside (9). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of their physicochemical and spectroscopic properties. Compounds 1, 2, 4 and 11 displayed potent antioxidant activities in the DPPH assay, while 2 and 3 displayed good activities against LPS-induced TNF-α and IL-1β production in BV2 cells. Compounds 1-5 and 10-12 were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against three human cancer cell lines (A-549, Bel-7402, and HCT-8), but none displayed significant activity., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Gerbera piloselloides is a very important ethnobotanical and ethnomedicinal plant used by indigenous peoples in southwestern China. Ten compounds were obtained using activity-guided isolation, including a parasorbosid derivative, two caffeic acid derivatives, two coumarins and five flavonoids, and identified from the whole plant of G. piloselloides. This is the first report of compound 5 as natural product. Six compounds were reported in the Gerbera genus for the first time. The antioxidant activity of all the compounds was evaluated by using ABTS assay, and the chemotaxonomic implication of this study was also discussed.

The potential therapeutic effects of Costa Rican guava (Psidium friedrichsthalianum) extracts for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were examined. The ethyl acetate fraction displayed the highest antioxidant activity, as compared to the hexane, chloroform, and n-butanol fractions, as well as the crude extract. This fraction was evaluated for its anti-inflammatory activity response relationship against interleukin-8 (IL-8) and inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) expression before and after treatment with cigarette smoke. The ethyl acetate fraction exhibited inhibitory activity against IL-8 production and MMP-1 expression, showing the most potent inhibitory activities in both assays at 100μg/mL, and nine compounds (1-9) were found. Phenolic compounds 1-O-trans-cinnamoyl-β-d-glucopyranose (2), ellagic acid (3), myricetin (4), quercitrin (7), and quercetin (9) were identified using standard compounds or literature reports from related species. Compounds 1, 5, 6, and 8 were tentatively identified as 1,5-dimethyl citrate (1), sinapic aldehyde 4-O-β-d-glucopyranose (5), 3,3',4-tri-O-methylellagic acid-4'-O-d-glucopyranoside (6), and 1,3-O-diferuloylglycerol (8), All nine compounds are reported for the first time in Costa Rican guava., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

There are many neotropical blueberries, and recent studies have shown that some have even stronger antioxidant activity than the well-known edible North American blueberries. Antioxidant marker compounds were predicted by applying multivariate statistics to data from LC-TOF-MS analysis and antioxidant assays of 3 North American blueberry species (Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccinium angustifolium, and a defined mixture of Vaccinium virgatum with V. corymbosum) and 12 neotropical blueberry species (Anthopterus wardii, Cavendishia grandifolia, Cavendishia isernii, Ceratostema silvicola, Disterigma rimbachii, Macleania coccoloboides, Macleania cordifolia, Macleania rupestris, Satyria boliviana, Sphyrospermum buxifolium, Sphyrospermum cordifolium, and Sphyrospermum ellipticum). Fourteen antioxidant markers were detected, and 12 of these, including 7 anthocyanins, 3 flavonols, 1 hydroxycinnamic acid, and 1 iridoid glycoside, were identified. This application of multivariate analysis to bioactivity and mass data can be used for identification of pharmacologically active natural products and may help to determine which neotropical blueberry species will be prioritized for agricultural development. Also, the compositional differences between North American and neotropical blueberries were determined by chemometric analysis, and 44 marker compounds including 16 anthocyanins, 15 flavonoids, 7 hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, 5 triterpene glycosides, and 1 iridoid glycoside were identified.

Eggplant and related Solanum species contain abundant caffeoylquinic acid (CQA) derivatives. Fruit of the invasive species Solanum viarum Dunal contain numerous complex CQA derivatives, but only a few have been identified. The structures of two new compounds isolated from methanolic extracts of S. viarum fruit by C(18)-HPLC-DAD were determined using 2D NMR and MS data. Both include two 5-CQA molecules joined by glucose via ester and glycosidic linkages. The structures of compounds 1 and 2 (viarumacids A and B) are, respectively, 5-caffeoyl- and 3-malonyl-5-caffeoyl-[4-(1β-[6-(5-caffeoyl)quinate]glucopyranosyl)]quinic acid. The antioxidant activities determined by ABTS(•+) and DPPH(•) assays were in the order 1 > 2 > 5-CQA.

Garcinia oblongifolia Champ. ex Benth. (Clusiaceae) is a well-known medicinal plant from southern China, with edible fruits. However, the phytochemistry and bioactivity of the different plant parts of G. oblongifolia have not been studied extensively. Comparative metabolic profiling and bioactivities of the leaf, branch, and fruit of G. oblongifolia were investigated. A total of 40 compounds such as biflavonoids, xanthones, and benzophenones were identified using UPLC-QTOF-MS and MS E , including 15 compounds reported for the first time from this species. Heatmap analyses found that benzophenones, xanthones, and biflavonoids were predominately found in branches, with benzophenones present in relatively high concentrations in all three plant parts. Xanthones were found to have limited distribution in fruit while biflavonoids were present at only low levels in leaves. In addition, the cytotoxic (MCF-7 breast cancer cell line) and antioxidant (ABTS and DPPH chemical tests) activities of the crude extracts of G. oblongifolia indicate that the branch extract exhibits greater bioactivity than either the leaf or the fruit extracts. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminate analysis was used to find 12 marker compounds, mainly xanthones, from the branches, including well-known antioxidants and cytotoxic agents. These G. oblongifolia results revealed that the variation in metabolite profiles can be correlated to the differences in bioactivity of the three plant parts investigated. This UPLC-QTOF-MS strategy can be useful to identify bioactive constituents expressed differentially in the various plant parts of a single species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]