Metabolite fingerprinting and profiling of selected medicinal plants using nuclear magnetic resonance

Background: Medicinal herbs are well known for their therapeutic effects and are traditionally used in the treatment and prevention of numerous diseases. Further plant-derived natural products have also been a valuable source of lead compounds for drug discovery and development. As the bioactivity of natural extracts is due to synergism between hundreds of metabolites present in the plant extract, the complete metabolomic analysis can be used for the quality control of phytomedicine. The 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) fingerprint of the herbal extract can be used as a promising approach for comprehensive analysis of secondary metabolites to obtain a holistic view. The 1H-NMR spectroscopy has the advantage that it requires little quantity of samples and simple sample preparation method. Objectives: The study aimed to study the secondary metabolites of seven selected herbs, namely Abies webbiana, Cuminum cyminum, Elettaria cardamomum, Zingiber officinale, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Piper longum, and Terminalia chebula. Materials and Methods: The secondary metabolites of the herbal extracts were studied by recording the 1H-NMR spectra using NMR spectrometer in suitable solvent. Results: The putative metabolites that have been identified were 4-methoxy quercetin, luteolin, cuminaldehyde, 1,8-cineole, elettarins, gingerol, shogaol, glycyrrhizin, liquiritigenin, glabridin, betulinic acid, oleanolic acid, arabinogalactan, chebulagic acid, and gallic acid. Conclusion: The study highlighted the potential of NMR metabolomics in the study of plant extracts and their application for the quality control of phytomedicine.