Introduction: The genus Echinacea (Asteraceae) comprises about 10 species originally distributed in North America. Three species are very well known as they are used worldwide as medicinal plants: Echinacea purpurea, E. pallida, E. angustifolia.
Objective: To discriminate between these three Echinacea species and E. simulata by (1)H NMR-based metabolomics.
Methodology: (1)H NMR and multivariate analysis techniques were applied to diverse Echinacea plants including roots and aerial parts, authentic plants, commercial plants and commercial dry extracts.
Results: Using the (1)H NMR metabolomics, it was possible, without previous evaporation or separation steps, to obtain a metabolic fingerprint to distinguish between species.
Conclusion: A clear distinction between the three pharmaceutical species was possible and some useful metabolites were identified.
(c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.