Abstract
Unonopsis (Annonaceae) is a neotropical genus constituted by nearly fifty species, with fifteen described in Brazil. In the state of Amazonas seven species are found, including U. guatterioides, which displays problems from the botanical viewpoint. Previous studies showed this genus as a promising source of aporphinoid alkaloids. In order to investigate the potential of the leaf alkaloid fingerprint for chemotaxonomic approaches, twelve Unonopsis specimens, representing five species commonly found in the state of Amazonas were subjected to acid-base partitioning to yield the respective alkaloidal fractions. These fractions were analysed by direct infusion electrospray ionization multiple stage mass spectrometry (ESI-MSn). The obtained data were treated through chemometric tools [principal components analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA)]. Multivariate analysis pointed to aporphine, proaporphine and tetrahydroprotoberberine alkaloids as the responsible compounds for segregation of the investigated species, being these alkaloids tentatively identificated by multiple stage mass spectrometry. The alkaloid fingerprint along with multivariate analysis provided a simple and effective approach to differentiateUnonopsis species commonly found in the state of Amazonas.
Highlights
Unonopsis (Annonacaeae) is a Neotropical genus (Central and tropical South American regions) constituted by approximately fifty species, being twenty five relatively new.[1]
The base peaks corresponding to ions at m/z 268, 298 and 342 [M + H]+ were observed in U. guatterioides, U. duckei and U. stipitata mass spectra, respectively, while the base peak at m/z 328 [M + H]+ was observed in U. floribunda and U. rufescens mass spectra (Figure 1)
Group IV was constituted by U. rufescens and U. floribunda specimens, which is not surprising since these botanically close[1] species were recently suggested to be chemically close.[18]
Summary
Unonopsis (Annonacaeae) is a Neotropical genus (Central and tropical South American regions) constituted by approximately fifty species, being twenty five relatively new.[1].
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