ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci., 30 November 2022

Sec. Plant Metabolism and Chemodiversity

Volume 13 - 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.989755

Metabolomic profiling of developing perilla leaves reveals the best harvest time

  • 1. College of Pharmacy, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, China

  • 2. Traditional Chinese Medicine Processing Technology Innovation Center of Hebei Province, School of Pharmacy, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, China

  • 3. International Joint Research Center on Resource Utilization and Quality Evaluation of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Hebei Province, School of Pharmacy, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, China

  • 4. Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Hebei Chemical and Pharmaceutical College, Shijiazhuang, China

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Abstract

Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were applied to analyze metabolites in perilla leaves (PLs) during its developmental process. In total, 118 metabolites were identified, including volatile and non-volatile compounds, such as terpenoids, sugars, amino acids, organic acids, fatty acids, phenolic acids, flavonoids, and others. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated great variations of metabolites during PLs development. Clustering analysis (CA) clarified the dynamic patterns of the metabolites. The heatmap of CA showed that most of the detected metabolites were significantly accumulated at stage 4 which is the pre anthesis period, and declined afterwards. The results of the present study provide a comprehensive overview of the metabolic dynamics of developing PLs which suggested that pre anthesis period is the best harvest time for PLs.

1 Introduction

Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. is an annual herbal plant that belongs to the family of Lamiaceae. It is widely cultivated in Asia counties, such as China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other regions (Yu et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2021). Perilla leaves (PLs) are commonly consumed as kitchen herb in salads, sushi, soups, and as spice, garnish, or food colorant. PLs are also used as traditional Chinese medicine to relieve exterior, dispersing cold, ease stomach pain, reduce phlegm and relieve cough and asthma (Ha et al., 2012; Igarashi and Miyazaki, 2013). Phytochemical studies indicated PLs were rich in essential oils, flavonoids, fatty acids, phenolic compounds, etc (Ahmed, 2018). Compounds of PLs showed various biological activities such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-allergic, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects (Banno et al., 2004; Ghimire et al., 2019; Wang et al., 2021; Yang et al., 2021). PLs has been used as a natural herbal medicine for treatment of depression-related disease, asthma, tumors, coughs, allergies, intoxication, fever, chills, headache, stuffy nose, and some intestinal disorders (Ito et al., 2011; Kim et al., 2012; Zhou et al., 2021). Owing to these health benefits, the food and pharmaceutical industries are increasingly interested in PLs.

The pharmacological activities of perilla are closely related to its chemical constituents. Some studies have revealed that great dynamic variation in the nutritional components and phytochemical substances might occur during plant development. Ghimire et al. (Ghimire et al., 2017) compared the total volatile contents of eighteen accessions of PLs and most of them were higher before the flowering time than at the flowering stage. Luo et al. (Luo et al., 2021) invested variation of two phenolic acids and six flavonoids during PLs development and suggested to harvest PLs at different times basing on the targeted metabolites. Peiretti et al. (Peiretti, 2011) evaluated perilla quality according to the content of fatty acid, fiber, crude protein, organic matter and gross energy during the growth cycle of perilla. According to their result, it is better to harvest perilla at around two months after sowing. Though these studies provided a general feature of perilla nutritional contents, a more comprehensive and detailed dynamic profile of developing PLs is still essential for providing more information to determine the harvest time according to different application.

In this study, mass spectrometry (MS) based high throughput metabolomic platforms were applied to ascertain the dynamic trajectory of complex ingredients of PLs during developmental process. In addition, multiple statistical analysis methods, including principal component analysis (PCA) and Clustering analysis (CA) were used to clarify the dynamic patterns of the detected metabolites. These data provide data support for determining the best harvest time of perilla leaves.

2 Materials and methods

2.1 Chemicals and reagents

HPLC grade methanol (MeOH), acetonitrile (ACN) and formic acid were purchased from Fisher Scientific (Pittsburgh, PA, United States) Ultrapure water was prepared by Synergy water purification system (Millipore, Billerica, United States). The reserpine standards (HPLC grade) and GC grade derivatizing regent MSTFA (N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide), methoxyamine hydrochloride were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA). Chemical reagent n-hexane (GC grade) and Anhydrous pyridine (GC grade) were obtained from Shanghai Aladdin Biochemical Technology Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China). Salicylic acid, luteolin, apigenin and rosmarinic acid standards were provided by Shanghai Yuanye Bio-Technology Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China). Reference standards of luteolin-7-O-glucoside, scutellarin, luteolin-7-O-glucuronide, apigenin-7-glucoside and apigenin-7-O-glucuronide were purchased from Shanghai Standard Technology Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China). The purities of all standards were determined to be higher than 98%. Other chemicals and reagents were analytical grade.

2.2 Plant materials

The PLs were randomly collected from Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. cultivated in the plant base of Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences in Shijiazhuang (China 38°06′41.7′′ N, 114°45′35.8′′E) in mid May 2019, and the samples were collected semimonthly from July 2019 to October 2019. The mean annual temperature was 14.4°C, mean annual humidity was 62%, mean annual precipitation was 422.6 mm, mean annual sunshine hours was 2235.4 hours. Growth process of perilla was performed using manual fertilization, therefore, soil is rich in organic elements. Three biological replicates were collected for each developmental phase (Table 1). The plant was identified by professor Yuguang Zheng (Hebei Chemical and Pharmaceutical College, China), and voucher specimens were deposited in Traditional Chinese Medicine Processing Technology Innovation Center of Hebei Province, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine. The harvested leaves were air-dried in the dark at room temperature for 2 weeks to acquire consistently low water content.

Table 1

No.Collection dateGrowth phase (Wei et al., 2017)Sample numberSpecimen No.
1July 15, 2019nutritional phasestage 1-1PF2019071501
2July 15, 2019nutritional phasestage 1-2PF2019071502
3July 15, 2019nutritional phasestage 1-3PF2019071503
4July 30, 2019nutritional phasestage 2-1PF2019073001
5July 30, 2019nutritional phasestage 2-2PF2019073002
6July 30, 2019nutritional phasestage 2-3PF2019073003
7August 15, 2019nutritional phasestage 3-1PF2019081501
8August 15, 2019nutritional phasestage 3-2PF2019081502
9August 15, 2019nutritional phasestage 3-3PF2019081503
10August 30, 2019nutritional phasestage 4-1PF2019083001
11August 30, 2019nutritional phasestage 4-2PF2019083002
12August 30, 2019nutritional phasestage 4-3PF2019083003
13September 15, 2019flowering phasestage 5-1PF2019091501
14September 15, 2019flowering phasestage 5-2PF2019091502
15September 15, 2019flowering phasestage 5-3PF2019091503
16September 30, 2019flowering phasestage 6-1PF2019093001
17September 30, 2019flowering phasestage 6-2PF2019093002
18September 30, 2019flowering phasestage 6-3PF2019093003
19October 15, 2019fruiting phasestage 7-1PF2019101501
20October 15, 2019fruiting phasestage 7-2PF2019101502
21October 15, 2019fruiting phasestage 7-3PF2019101503

Information of samples collected at different developmental times.

2.3 Analysis of the volatile metabolites by GC-MS

2.3.1 Sample pretreatment

The dried PF samples were pulverized with grinder (FW100, Taisite, Tianjin, China), and screened through 60 mesh sieves. 100 mg of each accurately weighted pulverized sample were thoroughly mixed with 1 mL of n-hexane then sonicated (300 W, 40 kHz) 15 min at room temperature. The extracted solution was centrifuged at 13000 rpm at room temperature for 10 min. The supernatant was injected into the GC-MS for analysis.

2.3.2 Instrument parameters

The GC-MS analysis was performed with an Agilent 7890B-5977B GC-MS (Agilent, Santa Clara, CA, USA) coupled with a HP-5MS capillary column (30 m × 0.25 mm, 0.25 μm film thickness, Agilent, Santa Clara, CA, USA). Helium (≥ 99.999%) was used as carrier gas at a constant flow rate of 1.0 mL·min-1. 1 μL of the prepared supernatant solution was injected in split-mode with the split ratio set to 2:1 at a temperature of 250°C. The oven temperature program was initially set at 45°C, then increased to 100°C at a rate of 10°C·min-1, and subsequently increased to 280°C at a rate of 4°C·min-1, finally held for 10 min. The electronic ionization voltage of electron-impact (EI) ion source was 70 eV. The mass spectrometer was operated in full scan mode with a scanning range of 50-550 m/z. n-Alkane standard solution (C8-C20, 40 mg·L-1, Sigma-Aldrich, Switzerland) was analyzed under the same condition for retention index (RI) calculation.

2.4 Analysis of non-volatile metabolites by GC-MS

2.4.1 Sample pretreatment

An integrative extraction of primary metabolites and secondary metabolites was performed according to a universal extraction protocol (Weckwerth et al., 2010; Mari et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2017) with some modifications. 100 mg of each pulverized samples were extracted with 1 mL of extraction solution (methanol: water: formic acid = 70:28:2) by sonication 15 min. The crude extract was centrifuged at 13,000 rpm at room temperature for 10 min. 50 μL of the supernatant together with 20 μL of salicylic acid (1 mg·mL-1, internal standard) was dried using a SpeedVac (Thermo Scientific, Inc., Bremen, Germany) at 5000 rpm and 40°C for 90 min. Methoxyamination of the carbonyl groups was performed by adding 20 μL of methoxyamine hydrochloride (40 mg·mL-1) in pyridine to each sample followed by incubation in metal bath at 30°C for 90 min. Subsequently, 80 μL of MSTFA (N-Methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl) trifluoroacetamide) was added and the mixtures were incubated at 37°C for 30 min. The derivatized samples were centrifuged at 13,000 rpm at room temperature for 10 min with the supernatants prepared for GC-MS analysis.

2.4.2 Instrument parameters

Aforementioned GC-MS instrument and column (see 2.3.2) was also applied for analysis of derivatized samples. 1 μL of the derivatized sample was injected using 5:1 split-mode at a temperature of 250°C. The temperature gradient program was as follows: Initial temperature was 80°C, increased to 200°C at a rate of 10°C·min-1; then increased to 250°C at a rate of 6°C·min-1; subsequently increased to 310°C at a rate of 6°C·min-1 and hold at 310°C for 5 min. EI ion source was adjusted to 230°C with electronic energy of 70 eV. The mass spectrometer was determined by the full-scan method ranging from 50 to 550 (m/z). n-Alkane standard solution (C8-C20, 40 mg·L-1, Sigma-Aldrich, Switzerland) was analyzed under the same condition for retention index (RI) calculation.

2.5 Analysis of the non-volatile metabolites by LC-MS

2.5.1 Sample pretreatment

100 μL of the above mentioned crude extract (see in 2.4.1) was mixed with 100 μL of 5 μg·mL-1 reserpine (internal standard) and diluted with 800 μL of extract solution then centrifuged at 13,000 rpm at room temperature for 10 min with the supernatants prepared for the LC-MS analysis.

2.5.2 Instrument parameters

The UHPLC-Q/TOF-MS analysis was performed on an Agilent 1290 UHPLC system coupled with an Agilent 6545 quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer system (Agilent, Santa Clara, CA, United States). Chromatographic separation was performed on an Agilent ZORBAX SB C18 column (4.6 × 50 mm, 1.8 μm).

UHPLC chromatographic conditions: the 0.5 μL of prepared samples were loaded on an Agilent 1290 UHPLC system and eluted with 0.1% formic-water (mobile phase A) and acetonitrile (mobile phase B) in the following gradient: 0-2 min, 12% B; 2-26 min, 12%-24% B; 26-35 min, 24%-50% B; 35-38 min, 50%-100% B; 38-45 min, 100% B. The flow rate was maintained at 0.4 mL·min-1, the column temperature was set at 25°C.

The MS acquisition parameters were referred to Chang et al. (2021) with minor modifications. The capillary voltage was set to 4000 V; and the collision energy was 20 eV and 35 eV. The analysis was operated in positive mode with the mass range of m/z 50-1000 Da.

2.6 Data processing and multivariate statistical analysis

For qualitative analysis, the metabolites detected by GC-MS with a similarity more than 80% to the NIST17 standard library were identified using the Agilent MassHunter analysis program (Agilent, Santa Clara, CA, USA). The RI of all the identified compounds were calculated by comparing their corresponding peak retention time to that of n-alkanes (C8–C20) (Chaturvedula and Prakash, 2013; Ma et al., 2014). The identification of detected metabolites in the LC-MS analysis was based on their accurate precursor masses and fragment masses. For quantitative analysis, the integrated peak area was considered to be a variable for analysis and normalized to internal standard. The combined GC-MS and LC-MS dataset was transformed to -1~1 by Min-Max Normalization method. SIMCA P13 software (Umetrics, Umea, Sweden) was used for principal component analysis (PCA). Cluster analysis (CA) and heatmap was performed with Origin Pro 2020 (OriginLab Corporation, USA) software. Duncan’s test was performed with IBM SPSS Statistics 23.0 (IBM, USA) software.

3 Results and discussion

3.1 Identification of detected metabolites

The typical total ion chromatograms (TICs) of GC-MS, pre-column derivatized GC-MS and LC-MS showed metabolomic profiles of PLs (Figures 1A-C). With reference to the NIST17 database, 47 volatile metabolites including aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, fatty acids, steroids and others (Table 2) were identified according to their retention times and mass spectrums. 51 peaks in Figure 1B were identified including sugars, amino acids, organic acids, fatty acids, and phenolic compounds (Table 3). The identification of non-volatile metabolites form LC-MS data were based on their precursor ions and fragmentation patterns. 28 metabolites, mainly flavonoids and anthocyanidins, were identified with their detail information such as retention time, chemical formula, ppm errors and fragment ions were listed in Table 4. Among the putatively identified compounds, eight metabolites (luteoloside (peak C11), scutellarin (peak C16), luteolin-7-O-glucuronide (peak C17), apigenin-7-O-glucoside (peak C18) apigenin-7-O-glucuronide (peak C23), rosmarinic acid (peak C24), luteolin (peak C26), apigenin (peak C27)) were confirmed with reference substances (Figure 1D). The chemical fingerprints showed distinct differences in the chemical composition of PLs at different harvesting (Figure 2).

Figure 1

Figure 1

The typical total ion chromatograms of PLs by GC-MS and LC-MS. (A) TIC of volatile metabolites in pooled samples by GC-MS; (B) TIC of non-volatile metabolites in pooled samples by GC-MS after derivatization; (C) TIC of non-volatile metabolites in pooled samples by LC-MS; (D) TIC of reference substances by LC-MS.

Table 2

No.RT (min)CompoundsMFMWClassRI
A15.01α-PineneC10H16136Bicyclic monoterpenoids918
A25.65PseudolimoneneC10H16136Mononcyclic monoterpenoids964
A36.44D-LimoneneC10H16136Mononcyclic monoterpenoids1017
A47.51α-TerpineneC10H16136Mononcyclic monoterpenoids1082
A57.69LinaloolC10H18O154Acyclic monoterpenoids1093
A69.71α-TerpineolC10H18O154Mononcyclic monoterpenoids1193
A710.53NerolC10H18O154Acyclic monoterpenoids1228
A811.21Perilla ketoneC10H14O2166Acyclic monoterpenoids1257
A911.71ShisoolC10H18O154Mononcyclic monoterpenoids1277
A1011.86PerillaldehydeC10H14O150Mononcyclic monoterpenoids1283
A1113.43γ-ElemeneC15H24204Mononcyclic sesquiterpenoids1344
A1214.51α-CopaeneC15H24204Tricyclic sesquiterpenoids1385
A1314.76β-BourboneneC15H24204Tricyclic sesquiterpenoids1394
A1414.93β-ElemeneC15H24204Mononcyclic sesquiterpenoids1401
A1515.77β-CaryophylleneC15H24204Bicyclic sesquiterpenoids1431
A1616.16Perillic acidC10H14O2166Mononcyclic monoterpenoids1446
A1716.68α-HumuleneC15H24204Mononcyclic sesquiterpenoids1465
A1817.44β-CopaeneC15H24204Tricyclic sesquiterpenoids1492
A1917.73Cis-α-BergamoteneC15H24204Bicyclic sesquiterpenoids1503
A2017.87BicyclogermacreneC15H24204Bicyclic sesquiterpenoids1508
A2118.09α-FarneseneC15H24204Acyclic sesquiterpenoids1516
A2218.51MyristicinC11H12O3192Aromatic compounds1531
A2318.59δ-CadineneC15H24204Bicyclic sesquiterpenoids1534
A2419.43ElemicinC12H16O3208Aromatic compounds1565
A2519.63NerolidolC15H26O222Acyclic sesquiterpenoids1572
A2620.11EspatulenolC15H24O220Tricyclic sesquiterpenoids1590
A2720.27β-Caryophyllene oxideC15H24O220Bicyclic sesquiterpenoids1595
A2820.59α-PatchouleneC15H24204Tricyclic sesquiterpenoids1607
A2922.16IsoelemicinC12H16O3208Aromatic compounds1666
A3026.89Phytyl acetateC22H42O2338Acyclic diterpenoids1849
A3127.23PentadecanoneC18H36O268Acyclic sesquiterpenoids1862
A3227.52Myristic acidC14H28O2228Aliphatic compounds1874
A3331.96Palmitic acidC16H32O2256Aliphatic compounds2059
A3433.38PhytolC20H40O296Acyclic diterpenoids2118
A3535.75α-Linolenic acidC18H30O2278Aliphatic compounds2217
A3645.07HeptacosaneC27H56380Aliphatic compounds2607
A3747.41SqualeneC30H50410Acyclic triterpenoids2705
A3848.55NonacosaneC29H60408Aliphatic compounds2753
A3949.161-HeptatriacotanolC37H76O536Aliphatic compounds2779
A4051.90HentriacontaneC31H64436Aliphatic compounds2893
A4152.60α-TocopherolC29H50O2430Mononcyclic triterpenoids2923
A4254.44CampesterolC28H48O400Steroids2999
A4355.19β-StigmasterolC29H48O412Steroids3031
A4456.32DotriacontaneC32H66450Aliphatic compounds3078
A4556.67γ-SitosterolC29H50O414Steroids3093
A4658.29β-AmyroneC30H48O424Tetracyclic triterpenoids3161
A4758.69α-AmyrinC30H50O426Tetracyclic triterpenoids3178

Identification of volatile compounds analyzed by GC-MS.

RT, retention time.

MF, molecular formula.

MW, molecular weight.

RI, retention index.

Table 3

No.RTCompoundsMFMWRI
B14.03Lactic acid (2TMS)C9H22O3Si22341063
B24.49L-Alanine (2TMS)C9H23NO2Si22331102
B34.67Glycine (TMS)C8H21NO2Si22191118
B44.94Oxalic acid (2TMS)C8H18O4Si22341141
B55.71Propanedioic acid (2TMS)C9H20O4Si22481206
B65.88L-Valine (2TMS)C11H27NO2Si22611220
B76.38L-Serine (2TMS)C9H23NO3Si22491260
B86.57L-Leucine (2TMS)C12H29NO2Si22751275
B96.62Glycerol (3TMS)C12H32O3Si33081280
B106.86L-Isoleucine (TMS)C12H29NO2Si22751299
B116.91L-Proline (2TMS)C11H25NO2Si22591303
B127.03Glycine (3TMS)C11H29NO2Si32911312
B137.36Glyceric acid (3TMS)C12H30O4Si33221339
B147.73L-Serine (3TMS)C12H31NO3Si33211368
B158.08L-Threonine (3TMS)C13H33NO3Si33351396
B169.35Malic acid (3TMS)C13H30O5Si33501499
B179.61Salicylic acid (2TMS)C13H22O3Si22821522
B189.73L-Aspartic acid (3TMS)C13H31NO4Si33491532
B199.81γ-Aminobutanoic acid (3TMS)C13H33NO2Si33191539
B2010.27L-Glutamic acid (3TMS)C14H33NO4Si33631578
B2110.97L-Phenylalanine (2TMS)C15H27NO2Si23091639
B2211.05L-Asparagine (4TMS)C16H40N2O3Si44201646
B2311.19Tartaric acid (4TMS)C16H38O6Si44381659
B2411.48L-Asparagine (3TMS)C13H32N2O3Si33481685
B2512.14Xylitol (5TMS)C20H52O5Si55121745
B2612.84L-Glutamine (3TMS)C14H34N2O3Si33621810
B2713.21Citric acid (4TMS)C18H40O7Si44801843
B2813.95D-Fructose (5TMS)C21H52O6Si55401909
B2914.18D-Galactose (5TMS)C21H52O6Si55401930
B3014.26D-Glucose (5TMS)C22H55NO6Si55691936
B3114.32L-Lysine (4TMS)C18H46N2O2Si44341942
B3214.54L-Tyrosine (3TMS)C18H35NO3Si33971961
B3314.64D-Glucitol (6TMS)C24H62O6Si66141970
B3414.72D-Sorbitol (6TMS)C24H62O6Si66141977
B3515.24D-Tagatose (6TMS)C24H61NO6Si66272022
B3615.53D-Gluconic acid (6TMS)C24H60O7Si66282047
B3716.12Palmitic acid (TMS)C19H40O2Si3282098
B3816.62Myo-Inositol (6TMS)C24H60O6Si66122142
B3916.91Caffeic acid (3TMS)C18H32O4Si33962167
B4017.16Oleic acid (TMS)C21H40O2Si3522189
B4117.81α-Linolenic acid (TMS)C21H38O2Si3502245
B4218.09Stearic acid (TMS)C21H44O2Si3562270
B4320.23D-Galacturonic acid (5TMS)C21H50O7Si55542456
B4422.57Lactulose (8TMS)C36H86O11Si89182660
B4523.25Sucrose (8TMS)C36H86O11Si89182719
B4623.93D-Lactose (8TMS)C36H86O11Si89182778
B4724.19Maltose (8TMS)C36H86O11Si89182801
B4825.25D-Cellobiose (8TMS)C36H86O11Si89182893
B4926.65Galactinol (9TMS)C38H92O11Si99763015
B5029.49Rosmarinic acid (5TMS)C33H56O8Si57203262
B5130.95D-Mannose (8TMS)C36H86O11Si89183389

Identification of non-volatile metabolites analyzed by pre-column derivatization combining with GC-MS.

RT, retention time.

MF, molecular formula.

MW, molecular weight.

RI, retention index.

Table 4

No.RT (min)Adduct ions (m/z)Molecular ions(m/z)Fragment ions in MS/MS (m/z)Molecular formulaMolecular weightError (ppm)IdentificationReferences
C14.06[M+NH4]+256.0813237.9925, 196.9654, 181.0494C11H10O6238.0415-0.99Acetyloxycaffeic acid(Ma et al., 2014)
C24.44[M+NH4]+344.1340165.0546, 147.0442, 119.0490C15H18O8326.10020.14Coumaric acid-4-O-glucoside(Chaturvedula and Prakash, 2013; Ma et al., 2014)
C35.69[M+H]+209.1535191.1425, 167.1432, 109.0650C11H12O4208.1460-0.89Caffeic acid ethyl ester(Chaturvedula and Prakash, 2013; Ma et al., 2014)
C45.98[M+NH4]+406.2073227.1279, 209.1172, 191.1064, 167.1068, 149.0959, 131.0852C18H28O9388.17330.08Tuberonic acid glucoside(Quirantes-Piné et al., 2010)
C56.26[M+H]+227.1279191.1071, 163.1112, 149.0964, 131.0855, 107.0857C12H18O4226.12050.63Tuberonic acid(Quirantes-Piné et al., 2010)
C66.41[M+H]+595.1661577.1559, 457.1138, 379.0818, 325.0710, 295.0601C27H30O15594.15890.68Apigenin-7-O-dilgucoside(Yamazaki et al., 2003; Zheng et al., 2020)
C78.03[M+H]+639.1201463.0880, 287.0554C27H26O18638.11291.52Scutellarin-7-O-diglucuronide(Yamazaki et al., 2003; Kaufmann et al., 2016)
C89.11[M+H]+639.1198463.0876, 287.0553C27H26O18638.11261.14Luteolin-7-O-diglucuronide(Meng et al., 2008; He et al., 2015)
C910.73[M+H]+479.0822303.0501C21H18O13478.07490.28Quercetin-3-O-glucuronide(Kaufmann et al., 2016)
C1010.90[M+H]+757.1977595.1453, 449.1088, 287.0558,C36H36O18756.19070.68Cis-shisonin(Yamazaki et al., 2003; He et al., 2015)
C1111.59[M+H]+449.1087287.0555, 153.0181C21H20O11448.10131.74Luteoloside*(Meng et al., 2008; Kaufmann et al., 2016)
C1211.76[M+NH4]+374.1449231.0504, 159.0287, 145.0494, 127.0389C15H16O10356.11100.83Caffeic acid-3-O-glucuronide(Zheng et al., 2020)
C1312.44[M+H]+623.1252447.0927, 271.0607, 141.0182C27H26O17622.11781.36Apigenin-7-O-diglucuronide(Meng et al., 2008; Kaufmann et al., 2016)
C1413.15[M+H]+465.1029303.0505, 285.0399, 85.0254C21H20O12464.09560.24Quercetin-3-O-glucoside(Pereira et al., 2012; Kaufmann et al., 2016)
C1514.73[M+H]+757.1975595.1442, 449.1076, 287.0547C36H36O18756.1901-0.04Shisonin(Yamazaki et al., 2003; He et al., 2015)
C1615.00[M+H]+463.0877287.0554C21H18O12462.08051.49Scutellarin*(Yamazaki et al., 2003; Kaufmann et al., 2016)
C1715.28[M+H]+463.0876287.0555C21H18O12462.08030.98Luteolin-7-O-glucuronide*(Kaufmann et al., 2016)
C1815.57[M+H]+433.1132271.0604, 153.0181, 85.0282C21H20O10432.10590.68Apigenin-7-O-glucoside*(Yamazaki et al., 2003; Kaufmann et al., 2016)
C1917.39[M+H]+317.1021197.0446, 182.0214, 147.0440C13H16O9316.09480.31Protocatechuic acid-3-O-glucoside(Yamazaki et al., 2003; Zheng et al., 2020)
C2018.51[M+H]+843.1985595.1451, 535.1078, 287.0547C39H38O21842.19120.73Malonyl-shisonin(Yamazaki et al., 2003; He et al., 2015)
C2118.88[M+NH4]+392.2282195.1380, 177.1271, 149.1328, 135.1169C19H18O8374.19440.89Rosmarinic acid methyl ester(Kaufmann et al., 2016; Zheng et al., 2020)
C2219.67[M+NH4]+738.2030523.1245, 343.0818, 181.0496, 163.0390C36H32O16720.16930.43Caffeic acid tetramer(Zheng et al., 2020)
C2320.11[M+H]+447.0927271.0597, 153.0176C21H18O11446.08541.12Apigenin-7-O-glucuronide*(Yamazaki et al., 2003; Kaufmann et al., 2016)
C2421.70[2M+Na]+743.1578383.0746, 221.0421, 203.0315, 185.0207C18H16O8360.31500.5Rosmarinic acid*(Zhou et al., 2014; Kaufmann et al., 2016)
C2529.25[M+H]+287.0553241.0497, 153.0183, 135.0439,C15H10O6286.04800.87Luteolin*(Lee et al., 2013; Zhou et al., 2014)
C2629.40[M+H]+301.1075197.0446, 182.0211, 103.0540C16H12O6300.10021.31Chrysoeriol(Lee et al., 2013; Guan et al., 2014)
C2732.00[M+H]+271.0601243.0652, 153.0180, 119.0492C15H10O5270.23700.14Apigenin*(Pereira et al., 2012; Lee et al., 2013)
C2834.64[M+H]+609.2814577.2529, 448.1980, 397.2128,C33H40N2O9608.2739-1.9ReserpineInternal standard

Identification of non-volatile metabolites analyzed by UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS.

RT, retention time.

“*”, confirmed with reference substances.

Figure 2

Figure 2

The chemical fingerprints of PLs at different harvesting by GC-MS and LC-MS. (A) Fingerprints of volatile metabolites by GC-MS; (B) Fingerprints of non-volatile metabolites by GC-MS after derivatization; (C) Fingerprints of non-volatile metabolites by LC-MS.

3.2 Principal component analysis (PCA) reveals metabolic variation of PLs at different harvest times

PCA was carried out for an overview of the dataset. In the PCA plot, three biological replicates of each stage were compactly gathered together (Figure 3) while samples at different harvest time were clearly separated indicating metabolomic changes during PLs development. PC1 and PC2 explained 77.7% of the total variance. Samples collected at harvest time 4 were completely separated with samples harvested at other periods on PC1 indicating a special and significant meaning of this harvest period. The loading values of all the metabolites are listed in Table 5.

Figure 3

Figure 3

The principal component analysis (PCA) score plots of of PLs samples at different harvesting times.

Table 5

No.CompoundsPC1PC2Stage 1Stage 2Stage 3Stage 4Stage 5Stage 6Stage 7
A1α-Pinene0.10-0.04dbccdaabbccd
A2Pseudolimonene0.100.00ccbabbb
A3D-limonene0.08-0.09cbcbcaaab
A4α-Terpinene0.09-0.03cddabcbd
A5Linalool0.090.08bcbcddabcde
A6α-Terpineol0.110.08debbcacdef
A7Nerol0.100.07bcdbcbadcde
A8Perilla ketone0.050.10bcaaabbcbcc
A9Shisool0.11-0.09eecabcbd
A10Perillaldehyde0.120.01fbcadde
A11γ-Elemene0.06-0.12ffecbad
A12α-Copaene0.11-0.08eddabcd
A13β-Bourbonene0.11-0.01dddabce
A14β-Elemene0.100.06ccbaadd
A15β-Caryophyllene0.110.06cbbcabcbcd
A16Perillic acid0.110.03ddbacdd
A17α-Humulene0.100.10ccaabdf
A18β-Copaene0.110.05ccbacbd
A19Cis-α-Bergamotene0.100.09ebcadff
A20Bicyclogermacrene0.110.05ecbadde
A21α-Farnesene0.10-0.07edecdacbcde
A22Myristicin0.120.00fdebacde
A23δ-Cadinene0.100.06ccabaabcd
A24Elemicin0.110.02cdcdbcabdd
A25Nerolidol0.11-0.04eeeabcd
A26Espatulenol0.110.08bcbbabcd
A27β-Caryophyllene oxide0.07-0.11dbccbcaabbc
A28α-Patchoulene0.12-0.02ffcabde
A29Isoelemicin0.110.01cdcdbcabdcd
A30Phytyl acetate0.090.05cbbaccc
A31Pentadecanone0.110.01dcdabdd
A32Myristic acid0.120.00dccabcd
A34Phytol0.100.04ccbadcdcd
A36Heptacosane0.03-0.06ccccbad
A37Squalene0.12-0.04ccbabbc
A38Nonacosane0.09-0.10dccabcabbc
A391-Heptatriacotanol0.10-0.06dcbaaacd
A40Hentriacontane0.06-0.14cbbaaaa
A41α-Tocopherol0.11-0.05fdcaabe
A42Campesterol0.060.11bcaaabcc
A43β-Stigmasterol0.030.12bcabbcbccd
A44Dotriacontane0.06-0.14ddcbcabc
A45γ-Sitosterol0.070.07dacbcdd
A46β-Amyrone0.060.09eabcdee
A47α-Amyrin0.020.10cdabccdd
B1Lactic acid0.11-0.02cbbabbbc
B2L-Alanine0.08-0.13eedabcc
B3&B12L-Glycine-0.010.17abcddef
B4Oxalic acid0.11-0.03dcababccc
B5Propanedioic acid0.09-0.11dcbcabbb
B6L-Valine0.11-0.04dccabbc
B8L-Leucine0.12-0.01edbabcde
B9Glycerol0.120.00ddecabde
B10L-Isoleucine0.120.00eebacde
B11L-Proline0.10-0.10edcabbcc
B13Glyceric acid0.110.03cabaaabc
B7&14L-Serine0.010.17aabbccde
B15L-Threonine0.12-0.04febacdd
B16Malic acid0.11-0.02dbaabbcc
B18L-Aspartic acid0.100.10dbaacde
B19γ-Aminobutanoic acid0.11-0.01cbaaabb
B20L-Glutamic acid0.11-0.01dcdababcbcdcd
B21L-Phenylalanine-0.020.17abcdeff
B22&24L-Asparagine0.040.15aaaabbc
B23Tartaric acid0.110.06dbaaccd
B25Xylitol0.010.17abbbcdd
B26L-Glutamine0.11-0.08febaccd
B27Citric acid0.110.04dabababccd
B28D-Fructose0.02-0.16fedcdcba
B29D-Galactose-0.01-0.17edccbaa
B30D-Glucose0.04-0.16edcbbaa
B31L-Lysine-0.030.17abcdeff
B32L-Tyrosine0.000.17aabcbcde
B33D-Glucitol-0.020.17aabbccdd
B34D-Sorbitol-0.07-0.15ddeecba
B35D-Tagatose-0.02-0.15cccbbba
B36D-Gluconic acid-0.04-0.16fefdcba
B37Palmitic acid0.100.07cbbaccc
B38Myo-Inositol-0.040.15abbccdcddd
B39Caffeic acid0.11-0.08edbaabc
B40Oleic acid0.12-0.03ffbacde
B41α-Linolenic acid0.100.05ccdbacdee
B42Stearic acid0.120.01dcdbabccdd
B43D-Galacturonic acid-0.040.13abbbbccd
B44Lactulose-0.03-0.17fefdedcba
B45Sucrose-0.03-0.16dcdcdccba
B47Maltose-0.07-0.13cccccba
B46D-Lactose-0.04-0.16edddcba
B48D-Cellobiose-0.03-0.13cbbbbba
B49Galactinol-0.030.16abbcdde
B51D-Mannose-0.03-0.14eccddcdba
C1Acetyloxycaffeic acid0.06-0.11eecbdac
C2Coumaric acid-4- O- glucoside0.11-0.02cbaaaad
C3Caffeic acid ethyl ester0.00-0.15fgdceab
C4Tuberonic acid glucoside0.12-0.01fecabdg
C5Tuberonic acid0.120.00febacdf
C6Apigenin-7-O-dilgucoside0.120.06ecbacdf
C7Scutellarin-7-O-diglucuronide0.11-0.01deaabce
C8Luteolin-7-O-diglucuronide0.110.02bcbbabcc
C9Quercetin-3-O-glucuronide0.120.02fdbacde
C10Cis-shisonin0.08-0.02dddbace
C11Luteoloside0.12-0.05dccabcc
C12Caffeic acid-3-O-glucuronide0.06-0.13ffdbeac
C13Apigenin-7-O-diglucuronide0.130.00dccabcd
C14Quercetin-3-O-glucoside0.110.05dbaaace
C15Shisonin0.04-0.07edcdcabcd
C16Scutellarin0.12-0.01dcbabbd
C17Luteolin-7-O-glucuronide0.12-0.01fdababccde
C18Apigenin-7-O-glucoside0.12-0.03ecbabcd
C19Protocatechuic acid-3-O-glucoside0.100.08eaaabcd
C20Malonyl-shisonin0.06-0.07edcdbabc
C21Rosmarinic acid methyl ester0.060.06cdabecf
C22Caffeic acid tetramer0.11-0.05fddabce
C23Apigenin-7-O-glucuronide0.12-0.03ecbabbd
C24Rosmarinic acid0.11-0.09edbabbc
C25Luteolin0.110.06dcbaacde
C29Chrysoeriol0.110.08ecbadef
C27Apigenin0.120.05dccabde

The PCA loading values and Duncan’s test result of metabolites identified in developing PLs.

a, b, c, d, e, f indicated significant levels according to Duncan’s test (p < 0.05).

3.3 Clustering analysis reveals dynamic patterns of metabolites in PLs during developmental process

To observe the dynamic changes of metabolites in different harvest periods in a more intuitive manner, a heatmap of the 118 different metabolites was obtained (Figure 4A).

Figure 4

Figure 4

Metabolome dynamics of developing PLs. (A) Overview of the metabolite dynamics with clustering heat map. (B–G) Present the dynamics of volatile oils, sugars, phytosterols and fatty acids, amino acids, phenolic acids and organic acids, derivatives, flavonoids and anthocyanins.

3.3.1 Dynamic patterns of volatile compounds

Volatile oil is a very important and widely studied class of metabolites in perilla. They showed bioactivities such as antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, antioxidant, etc (Raut and Karuppayil, 2014). In most flowering plants, the production and emission of volatile metabolites are developmentally regulated and show similar developmental characteristics. Normally, volatile oil accumulates in the early developmental stage when fruits are not mature or before the flowers are ready for pollination. Then a release of volatile components to attract pollinators might cause a decrease of volatile compounds in the early stage of flowering (Dudareva et al., 2000; Dudareva et al., 2013). In the present study, most of volatile oil compounds showed highest level at stage 4 which was pre anthesis period (Figure 4B). Only heptacosane and γ-elemene showed the highest level at stage 6 which was a stage before fruiting period (Figure 4B). The dynamic patterns of volatile compounds indicated their crucial function in plant pollination and reproduction.

3.3.2 Sugars and derivatives

During photosynthesis, all kinds of carbon is fixed in the forms of sugars and sugar derivatives (Smeekens and Hellmann, 2014; Sakr et al., 2018) Sugars help plants store energy and play essential roles in signalling pathways of plant growth and development. In this study, the main sugars in PLs are D-fructose, D-glucose and sucrose. They accumulated constantly during the developmental process of PLs and were with highest levels in fruiting phase (Figure 4C). Most of the sugars and sugar derivatives showed similar dynamic patterns as them (Figure 4C). Only five sugar derivatives (xylitol, D-glucitol, myo-inositol, galactinol and galacturonic acid) changed differently, with higher content at early developmental stage and decreased throughout the development process (Figure 4C). Accumulation of sugar content during plant development was also observed in Cichorium spinosum (Petropoulos et al., 2018).

3.3.3 Phytosterols and fatty acids

The sterol composition of plants is complex and diverse. The main membrane sterols in higher plants are β-sitosterol, stigmasterol and campesterol (Ruan, 2014). Sterols are not only signal and regulatory molecules involved in plant growth and development, but also play key roles in cell proliferation and differentiation (Guo et al., 1995; Moreau et al., 2018). In this study, all phytosterols were showed the highest level at stage 2, and decreased gradually (γ-sitosterol, β-amyrone, α-amyrin, stigmasterol, campesterol) (Figure 4D). This trend may be due to the vigorous metabolism of cells in the nutritional stage.

Fatty acids and lipids provide structural integrity and energy for various metabolic processes (Lim et al., 2017). The predominant fatty acids detected in PLs were palmitic acid, oleic acid and α-linolenic acid which increased pre anthesis period and declined afterwards (Figure 4D). Oleic acid and α-linolenic acid are essential unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) and recommended for consumption for their multiple health benefits, such as anti-obesity (Fan et al., 2020), cardioprotection (Russell et al., 2020), anti-diabetes (Canetti et al., 2014), anti-inflammation (Wang et al., 2020), anti-cancer (Schiessel et al., 2015), neuroprotection (Kumari et al., 2019) and so on. Intake of α-linolenic acid rich P. frutescens leaf powder in Japanese adults showed some cardiovascular protective effects (Hashimoto et al., 2020). Considering the health benefits of these unsaturated fatty acids, stage 4, the pre anthesis period would be suitable harvest time for ensuring high content of these UFAs in perilla leaves.

3.3.4 Amino acids

Amino acids are not only important components for plants to complete their life cycle activities (Paulusma et al., 2022), but also essential nutrients for humans and other animals. PLs are rich in amino acids. Amino acids in PLs showed two distinct dynamic patterns during PLs development. Some amino acids were with higher content at early stages and decreased throughout the developmental process, such as L-serine, L-lysine, L-phenylalanine, L-tyrosine, L-glycine (Figure 4E). Other amino acids were showed the highest level at stage 4, and decreased afterwards, such as L-aspartic acid, L-isoleucine, L-threonine, L-leucine, L-glutamine, L-proline, L-valine, L-alanine, etc (Figure 4E). Free amino acids could elicit complex gustatory sensation (Kawai et al., 2012), especially the taste of umami. They can bring fresh and brisk tastes to PLs and participate in the formation of aroma substances (Lee et al., 2019). With the maturity and senescence of leaves, there may be two reasons for the decrease of amino acids. First, amino acids might be involved in the synthesis of storage proteins. Second, the complete oxidation of amino acids produces the energy required to meet the special needs of certain organs, such as stressed leaves or roots. The molecular mechanism of regulation of amino acid catabolism in plants is complex and unclear so far (Hildebrandt et al., 2015). Considering the nutritional value and gustatory sensation of amino acids, it would be appropriate to harvest perilla leaves before the pre anthesis period.

3.3.4 Phenolic acids and organic acids

Phenolic acids have various pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, and anti-depressive activities (Tinikul et al., 2018; Deguchi and Ito, 2020). Some of them are connected to the polymer of the cell wall through covalent bonds, which is crucial to the process of plant immune mechanism (Stuper-Szablewska and Perkowski, 2019). The predominant phenolic acids detected in PLs were rosmarinic acid and caffeic acid, which showed highest level at stage 4 (Figure 4F).

Organic acids are the intermediate products of cell metabolic tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle (Xiao and Wu, 2014). Many environmental stresses stimulate the biosynthesis and release of organic acids. For example, plants secrete organic acids in root exudates to mobilize phosphorus in deficient soil (Panchal et al., 2021). The main organic acids in PLs are lactic acid, malic acid, tartaric acid and citric acid. They also increased at early stages, showed highest level at around pre anthesis period and decreased afterwards (Figure 4F). Organic acids contribute to the sourness and fruity taste of plants, while inhibit the bitterness taste (Wang et al., 2021). Therefore, considering the high content of these compounds in PLs at the stage 4, alternative uses for food or pharmaceutical can be proposed.

3.3.5 Flavonoids and natural pigments

Flavonoids play an important role in plant development and defense, have the ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) and protect plants against damage from biotic and abiotic stresses (Iwashina, 2003; Pourcel et al., 2007). During perilla leaves development, the detected flavonoids presented an unanimous changing pattern. All the flavonoids accumulated pre anthesis period and showed the highest level at stage 4 (Figure 4G). Previous studies reported that flavonoids have many biological functions such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-diabetic, and anti-hypertensive activities (Kawser Hossain et al., 2016; Jiang et al., 2020).

The color of fruits and flowers is crucial in plant ecology, can attract pollinators and seed-dispersal organisms (Grotewold, 2006). The molecular signals that induce pigment biosynthesis during pollination are unclear, but light plays a central role (Farzad et al., 2002). Natural pigments from PLs have exhibited a wide range of bioactive properties including antioxidant effects, anti-inflammatory effects, etc (Chang et al., 2005; Wang and Stoner, 2008; Lila et al., 2016). Natural pigments detected in PLs including shisonin and its derivatives. They showed the highest level at stage 5 (vigorous flowering period) (Figure 4G). According to this result, if the targeted metabolites are these pigments, it is better to harvest PLs during flowering period.

4 Conclusion

In this study, our results showed the advantages of applying an integrated LC-MS and GC-MS metabolomic platforms the evaluation of optimal harvesting period for plants. We employed metabolomic analysis to clarified the evolutionary trajectories and dynamic changes of volatile oil compounds, sugars, flavonoids, amino acids, organic acids, etc. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for the development of PLs and offer data support for the optimal harvesting period of PLs. Considering the content of most of the nutrients and bioactive components, pre anthesis period is a suitable harvest time for PLs.

Funding

This research was funded by Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province (C2020423047); Research Foundation of Hebei Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2019083); The Innovation Team of Hebei Province Modern Agricultural Industry Technology System (HBCT2018060205).

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Prof. Chunxiu Wen and her team for providing us the plant materials. We would like to thank the gardeners for their great maintenance of the perilla. We would like to thank all the members in Traditional Chinese Medicine Processing Technology Innovation Center of Hebei Province for fruitful discussions.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Statements

Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Author contributions

LW and YZ conceived and designed the experiments. JC performed the experiments. JC, GY, and AY analyzed the data. JC wrote the manuscript. LW, YZ and LG revised and edited the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Summary

Keywords

Perilla leaf, mass spectrometry, metabolomic dynamics, harvest time, multivariate statistical analysis

Citation

Chen J, Guo L, Yang G, Yang A, Zheng Y and Wang L (2022) Metabolomic profiling of developing perilla leaves reveals the best harvest time. Front. Plant Sci. 13:989755. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.989755

Received

08 July 2022

Accepted

10 November 2022

Published

30 November 2022

Volume

13 - 2022

Edited by

Claudio Bonghi, University of Padua, Italy

Reviewed by

Kamel Msaada, Center of Biotechnology of Borj Cedria (CBBC), Tunisia; Maoqing Wang, Harbin Medical University, China

Updates

Copyright

*Correspondence: Yuguang Zheng, ; Lei Wang,

†These authors have contributed equally to this work

This article was submitted to Plant Metabolism and Chemodiversity, a section of the journal Frontiers in Plant Science

Disclaimer

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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