The Difference of Volatile Compounds in Female and Male Buds of Herpetospermum pedunculosum Based on HS-SPME-GC-MS and Multivariate Statistical Analysis.

Zhenying Liu,Zhuojun Li,Cui Wu,Ye Fang,Bo Xu,Pingping Song,Huijun Wang,Zhimao Chao,Xian Hai

doi:10.3390/molecules27041288

Abstract

Herpetospermum pedunculosum (Ser.) C. B. Clarke (Family Cucurbitaceae) is a dioecious plant and has been used as a traditional Tibetan medicine for the treatment of hepatobiliary diseases. The component, content, and difference in volatile compounds in the female and male buds of H. pedunculosum were explored by using headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) technology and multivariate statistical analysis. The results showed that isoamyl alcohol was the main compound in both female and male buds and its content in males was higher than that in females; 18 compounds were identified in female buds including 6 unique compounds such as (E)-4-hexenol and isoamyl acetate, and 32 compounds were identified in male buds, including 20 unique compounds such as (Z)-3-methylbutyraldehyde oxime and benzyl alcohol. (Z)-3-methylbutyraldehyde oxime and (E)-3-methylbutyraldehyde oxime were found in male buds, which only occurred in night-flowering plants. In total, 9 differential volatile compounds between female and male buds were screened out, including isoamyl alcohol, (Z)-3-methylbutanal oxime, and 1-nitropentane based on multivariate statistical analysis such as principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA). This is the first time to report the volatile components of H. pedunculosum, which not only find characteristic difference between female and male buds, but also point out the correlation between volatile compounds, floral odor, and plant physiology. This study enriches the basic theory of dioecious plants and has guiding significance for the production and development of H. pedunculosum germplasm resources.

Highlights

There were a lot of differences in the morphological structure between female and male flowers and buds of the dioecious plant H. pedunculosum, but the difference in volatile compounds has not been reported in the literature
The female and male buds were obtained by pinching off the flower stalk with tweezers, which were identified as fresh female and male buds of Herpetospermum pedunculosum (Ser.) C
HS-SPME-Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technology coupled to multivariate statistics analysis was used to explore some difference in volatile compounds of H. pedunculosum

Summary

Introduction

B. Clarke (Family Cucurbitaceae) is an annual climbing herb, distributed in Tibet, Yunnan, Sichuan, and other high-altitude areas in China, Nepal, and northeastern India [1,2,3]. As a traditional Tibetan medicine, it has the functions of clearing away heat and detoxification, and removing the gallbladder and internal heat for its bitter taste and cool potency [3,4], and is widely used for the treatment of hepatobiliary diseases [5]. Its flowering period is June to September, and it blooms at night. Its flowers are golden-yellow with five petals, trumpet-shaped, eventually tubular, and covered with fine hairs. The male flower is usually solitary with sparsely pubescent hairs or concomitant with the same

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