Metabolic profiling and antioxidant activity during flower development in Agastache rugosa

Hyeon Ji Yeo; Chang Ha Park; Ye Eun Park; Hyejin Hyeon; Jae Kwang Kim; Sook Young Lee; Sang Un Park

doi:10.1007/s12298-021-00945-z

Metabolic profiling and antioxidant activity during flower development in Agastache rugosa

Physiol Mol Biol Plants. 2021 Mar;27(3):445-455. doi: 10.1007/s12298-021-00945-z. Epub 2021 Feb 22.

Authors

Hyeon Ji Yeo^#¹, Chang Ha Park^#¹, Ye Eun Park¹, Hyejin Hyeon², Jae Kwang Kim², Sook Young Lee³, Sang Un Park^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Crop Science, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34134 Korea.
² Division of Life Sciences and Bio-Resource and Environmental Center, Incheon National University, Incheon, 22012 Korea.
³ Marine Bio Research Center, Chosun University, 61-220 Myeongsasimni, Sinji-myeon, Wando-gun, 59146 Jeollanamdo Korea.
⁴ Department of Smart Agriculture Systems, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34134 Republic of Korea.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Our previous study showed that flowers of Agastache rugosa had higher phenolic levels and higher antibacterial and antioxidant capacity compared to those of the leaves and stems. The aim of this study was to provide information on the variation in primary and secondary metabolites during flower development in A. rugosa by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and assays of total anthocyanin (TAC), flavonoid (TFC), and phenolic content (TPC), as well as gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOFMS) analysis. Assays of TPC, TAC, and TFC showed that the floral bud (stage I) contained higher TPC than did the partially open flower (stage II) and fully open flower (stage III). However, the TFC was the highest at stage II, and the highest TAC was observed at stage III. Furthermore, HPLC analysis revealed that the level of total phenylpropanoids, including rosmarinic acid, tilianin, acacetin, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, trans-cinnamic acid, rutin, (-)-epicatechin, quercetin, and kaempferol, was higher in stages I and II, but the concentrations of rutin and rosmarinic acid were highest in stage III. A total of 43 compounds, including amino acids, organic acids, phenolic compounds, sugars, photorespiration-related compounds, and intermediates of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, were identified through GC-TOFMS analysis. Of these compounds, most amino acids decreased during flower development. In contrast, the increase in concentrations of glucose and sucrose were observed from stages I to III. In this study, health-beneficial compounds were identified and quantified in flowers of A. rugosa. Accordingly, our results suggests that A. rugosa flowers can potentially be used as biomaterials for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, and related industries.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at (10.1007/s12298-021-00945-z).

Keywords: Agastache rugosa; Metabolic profiling; Phenylpropanoid; Rosmarinic acid biosynthesis.