Abstract
Rhodiola species have a long history of use in traditional medicine in Asian and European countries and have been considered to possess resistance to the challenges presented by extreme altitudes. However, the influence of different Rhodiola species on quality is unclear, as well as the influence of altitude on phytochemicals. In this study, the phenolic components and antioxidant abilities of two major Rhodiola species are compared, namely Rhodiola crenulata and Rhodiola rosea, and the metabolomes of Rhodiola crenulata from two representative elevations of 2907 and 5116 m are analyzed using a UPLC-QqQ-MS-based metabolomics approach. The results show that the phenolic components and antioxidant activities of Rhodiola crenulata are higher than those of Rhodiola rosea, and that these effects in the two species are positively correlated with elevation. Here, 408 metabolites are identified, of which 178 differential metabolites (128 upregulated versus 50 downregulated) and 19 biomarkers are determined in Rhodiola crenulata. Further analysis of these differential metabolites showed a significant upregulation of flavonoids, featuring glucosides, the enhancement of the phenylpropanoid pathway, and the downregulation of hydrolyzed tannins in Rhodiola crenulata as elevation increased. Besides, the amino acids of differential metabolites were all upregulated as the altitude increased. Our results contribute to further exploring the Rhodiola species and providing new insights into the Rhodiola crenulata phytochemical response to elevation.
Highlights
The Rhodiola species is a species of alpine herb
The results show that elevation influences Rhodiola crenulata to produce complex catechin derivatives represented by gallocatechin gallate (GCG), epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), and gallocatechin 3-O-gallate, and that this is highly consistent with the effects of luteolin and derivatives
Our findings here can be summarized as follows: (1) the phenolic components and antioxidant activities in Rhodiola crenulata are greater than those in Rhodiola rosea, and these two species both present a positive correlation with elevation regarding the phenolic components and antioxidant activities
Summary
The Rhodiola species is a species of alpine herb. The rhizome of this species has been used in traditional medicine in Asian and European countries to improve overall health. There are approximately 90 species worldwide, and 73 species are found in China. Rhodiola crenulata and Rhodiola rosea are the main medicinal species [1,2]. According to Flora of China [3,4], Rhodiola crenulata is mainly distributed in Tibet ( named Xizang), China, and Rhodiola rosea exists in Jilin (not found in Tibet), China. Rhodiola grows on alpine grasslands, valley rocks, or glaciers at an altitude range of 1800–5600 m [3,4] and can adapt to extremely high altitude adversities, including a low temperature, hypoxia, intensive ultraviolet radiation, huge diurnal temperature differences, etc.
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