Beyond natural rubber: Taraxacum kok-saghyz and Taraxacum brevicorniculatum as sources of bioactive compounds

Abstract

Taraxacum kok-saghyz (TKS) and T. brevicorniculatum (TB) are broadly investigated as natural rubber-producing plants and possible alternative supply sources for this relevant raw material. To fully exploit Taraxacum as a profitable crop, all the potential co-products should be investigated, through in-depth analysis of metabolites present in different organs of the plant. In the present study, natural rubber (NR), inulin, and resin content was measured by accelerated solvent extraction from the roots of TB and TKS, highlighting a 5-fold more content of NR in TKS compared to TB. Moreover, the chemical composition of both acetone and methanolic extracts from the roots and leaves of TKS and TB has been characterized by ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) technique and the content of target compounds between TKS and TB was also compared. The analysis resulted in the detection of 55 metabolites, whose identification was discussed based on chemical classes and the extraction method. Thus, sesquiterpenoids, fatty acids and their derivatives, phenolic compounds, mainly caftaric and chicoric acid, were identified. Hence, both the leaves and roots of TB, and especially of TKS, are rich in a wide variety of high-value-added compounds exploitable along with NR and inulin to increase the commercial value of these two dandelion species.