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Chromatographic Methods for Metabolite Profiling of Virus- and Phytoplasma-Infected Plants of Echinacea purpurea

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Federica Pellati*†, Francesco Epifano‡, Nicoletta Contaldo§, Giulia Orlandini†, Lisa Cavicchi

, Salvatore Genovese‡, Davide Bertelli†, Stefania Benvenuti†, Massimo Curini

, Assunta Bertaccini§, and Maria Grazia Bellardi§

Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Via G. Campi 183, 41125 Modena, Italy

Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco, Università “G. D'Annunzio” di Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti Scalo (CH), Italy

DiSTA—Patologia Vegetale, Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna, Viale G. Fanin 42, 40127 Bologna, Italy

Plesso Didattico G. Scarabelli, Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna, Viale G. Ascari 17, 40026 Imola, Bologna, Italy

Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Via del Liceo, 06123 Perugia, Italy

J. Agric. Food Chem., 2011, 59 (19), pp 10425–10434

DOI: 10.1021/jf2025677

Publication Date (Web): August 10, 2011

Tel: +39-059-2055144. Fax: +39-059-2055131. E-mail: federica.pellati@unimore.it.

Section:

Plant Biochemistry

Abstract

This study was focused on the effects of virus and phytoplasma infections on the production of Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench secondary metabolites, such as caffeic acid derivatives, alkamides, and essential oil. The identification of caffeic acid derivatives and alkamides was carried out by means of high-performance liquid chromatography–diode array detection (HPLC-DAD), HPLC–electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and MS². Quantitative analysis of these compounds was carried out using HPLC-DAD. The results indicated that the presence of the two pathogens significantly decreases (P < 0.05) the content of cichoric acid, the main caffeic acid derivative. Regarding the main alkamide, dodeca-2E,4E,8Z,10E/Z-tetraenoic acid isobutylamide, a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in the content of this secondary metabolite was observed in virus-infected plants in comparison with healthy plants, while in the phytoplasma-infected sample the variation of this secondary metabolite was not appreciable. The % relative area of the E/Z isomers of this alkamide was also found to change in infected samples. The gas chromatography (GC) and GC-MS analysis of E. purpurea essential oil enabled the identification of 30 compounds. The main significant differences (P < 0.05) in the semiquantitative composition were observed for three components: limonene, cis-verbenol, and verbenone. The results indicate that the presence of virus and phytoplasma has an appreciable influence on the content of E. purpurea secondary metabolites, which is an important issue in defining the commercial quality, market value, and therapeutic efficacy of this herbal drug.