Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences Vol 20 No 2 (2016): 318 - 323

 

 

 

CHEMICAL PROFILING AND IDENTIFICATION OF ALKALOIDS AND FLAVONOIDS IN Uncaria lanosa var. ferrea VIA UHPLC-ORBITRAP MS

 

(Profil Kimia dan Pengenalan Alkaloid dan Flavonoid dalam Uncaria lanosa var. ferrea melalui UHPLC - Orbitrap MS)

 

Nursyaza Husna Shaharuddin^{1, 2}, Nor Hadiani Ismail^{1, 2}, Nurhuda Manshoor^{1, 3}, Fatimah Salim^{1, 2}, Rohaya Ahmad^{1, 2}*

 

¹Faculty of Applied Sciences,

Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM),

40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

²Atta-ur-Rahman Institute for Natural Products Discovery

³Faculty of Pharmacy

Universiti Teknologi MARA, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

 

*Corresponding author: rohayaahmad@salam.uitm.edu.my

 

 

Received: 24 February 2015; Accepted: 27 October 2015

 

 

Abstract

Our previous studies on Malaysian Uncaria (Rubiaceae) have yielded over 20 compounds including alkaloids and flavonoids with some compounds showing interesting biological activities. In the search of new bioactive compounds from the genus, a phytochemical investigation on Uncaria lanosa (Wall.) locally known as “gegambir paya” or “gegambir hitam” was carried out via metabolite profiling. The plant is reported to be used as an infusion for intestine inflammation and a decoction for cleaning wounds and ulcers. Metabolite profiling was carried out using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with orbitrap mass spectrometry detectors (UHPLC-Orbitrap MS). Ten alkaloids and six flavonoids previously isolated from other Uncaria species were used as reference compounds. Phytochemical analysis of the stem extracts of the plant found the presence of a flavonoid and three alkaloids whose identities were obtained through the comparison of their mass and fragmentation pattern as well as the retention times of the reference compounds. The developed LC-MS method is expected to lead to a more rapid and reliable approach in discovery of new or novel compounds in Uncaria genus. The development of the MS database will also aid in the metabolite profiling of other medicinal plants in natural product research.

 

Keywords: Uncaria, Uncaria lanosa, metabolite profiling, UHPLC-Orbitrap MS

 

Abstrak

Kajian kami sebelum ini ke atas Uncaria (Rubiaceae) Malaysia telah menghasilkan lebih 20 sebatian termasuk alkaloid dan flavonoid dengan beberapa sebatian yang menunjukkan aktiviti biologi yang menarik. Dalam usaha mencari sebatian bioaktif baru dari genus ini, siasatan fitokimia ke atas Uncaria lanosa (Wall.) yang dikenali sebagai "gegambir paya" atau "gegambir hitam" telah dijalankan melalui profil metabolit. Tumbuhan ini dilapor digunakan sebagai infusi untuk radang usus dan sebagai rebusan untuk membersihkan luka dan ulser. Pemprofilan metabolit telah dijalankan dengan menggunakan kromatografi cecair ultra tinggi dengan pengesan spektrometri jisim orbitrap (UHPLC-Orbitrap MS). Sepuluh alkaloid dan enam flavonoid yang sebelum ini diasingkan daripada spesies Uncaria lain telah digunakan sebagai bahan rujukan. Analisis fitokimia ekstrak daripada batang tumbuhan tersebut menemui satu flavonoid dan tiga alkaloid yang dikenalpasti melalui perbandingan jisim, corak fragmentasi serta masa tahanan berbanding sebatian rujukan. Kaedah LC-MS yang dibangunkan dijangka membawa kepada pendekatan yang lebih pantas dan boleh dipercayai dalam penemuan sebatian baru atau novel dalam genus Uncaria. Pembangunan pangkalan data MS juga akan membantu pemprofilan tumbuhan ubatan lain dalam penyelidikan produk semulajadi.

 

Kata kunci: Uncaria, Uncaria lanosa, profil metabolit, UHPLC-Orbitrap MS

 

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