How do cultivar origin and stepwise industrial processing impact Sesamum indicum seeds' metabolome and its paste and in relation to their antioxidant effects? A case study from the sesame industry

Sesame is a valuable crop recognized for its rich composition and myriad of health benefits. The current study attempts to characterize sesame seeds' metabolome in relation to geographical origins i.e., Egypt, Sudan, Nigeria, in addition to samples from paste production lines along its different steps. UPLC-PDA-ESI-qTOF-MS was employed for untargeted profiling and in correlation to antioxidant capacity using DPPH, FRAP and β-carotene-lineolate assays. 139 Peaks were identified, including novel phospholipids and catechol lignan in sesame. Furthermore, discriminatory markers belonging to coumarins, lignans, phenolic and organic acids were revealed among raw accessions, whereas roasted and unroasted seeds were distinguished by sugar, peptide/amino acid, and organic acid contents. Negative processing impact was observed in the loss of lignans during dehulling and decreased antioxidant capacity in sesame paste. However, malic acid in roasted seeds and verbascoside in Nigerian sesame could account for their improved antioxidant effects as revealed using chemometrics.

How Does Lagenaria siceraria (Bottle Gourd) Metabolome Compare to Cucumis sativus (Cucumber) F. Cucurbitaceae? A Multiplex Approach of HR-UPLC/MS/MS and GC/MS Using Molecular Networking and Chemometrics

Cucurbitaceae comprises 800 species, the majority of which are known for their nutritive, economic, and health-promoting effects. This study aims at the metabolome profiling of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) fruits in a comparative manner for the first time, considering that both species are reported to exhibit several in-common phytochemical classes and bioactivities. Nevertheless, bottle gourd is far less known and/or consumed than cucumber, which is famous worldwide. A multiplex approach, including HR-UPLC/MS/MS, GNPS networking, SPME, and GC/MS, was employed to profile primary and secondary metabolites in both species that could mediate for new health and nutritive aspects, in addition to their aroma profiling, which affects the consumers' preferences. Spectroscopic datasets were analyzed using multivariate data analyses (PCA and OPLS) for assigning biomarkers that distinguish each fruit. Herein, 107 metabolites were annotated in cucumber and bottle gourd fruits via HR-UPLC/MS/MS analysis in both modes, aided by GNPS networking. Metabolites belong to amino acids, organic acids, cinnamates, alkaloids, flavonoids, pterocarpans, alkyl glycosides, sesquiterpenes, saponins, lignans, fatty acids/amides, and lysophospholipids, including several first-time reported metabolites and classes in Cucurbitaceae. Aroma profiling detected 93 volatiles presented at comparable levels in both species, from which it can be inferred that bottle gourds possess a consumer-pleasant aroma, although data analyses detected further enrichment of bottle gourd with ketones and esters versus aldehydes in cucumber. GC/MS analysis of silylated compounds detected 49 peaks in both species, including alcohols, amino acids, fatty acids/esters, nitrogenous compounds, organic acids, phenolic acids, steroids, and sugars, from which data analyses recognized that the bottle gourd was further enriched with fatty acids in contrast to higher sugar levels in cucumber. This study provides new possible attributes for both species in nutrition and health-care fields based on the newly detected metabolites, and further highlights the potential of the less famous fruit "bottle gourd", recommending its propagation.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Metabolomics Approach for the Analysis of Major Legume Sprouts Coupled to Chemometrics

Legume sprouts are a fresh nutritive source of phytochemicals of increasing attention worldwide owing to their many health benefits. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was utilized for the metabolite fingerprinting of 4 major legume sprouts, belonging to family Fabaceae, to be exploited for quality control purposes. Thirty-two metabolites were identified belonging to different classes, i.e., fatty acids, sugars, amino acids, nucleobases, organic acids, sterols, alkaloids, and isoflavonoids. Quantitative NMR was employed for assessing the major identified metabolite levels and multivariate data analysis was utilized to assess metabolome heterogeneity among sprout samples. Isoflavones were detected exclusively in Cicer sprouts, whereas Trigonella was characterized by 4-hydroxyisoleucine. Vicia sprouts were distinguished from other legume sprouts by the presence of L-Dopa versus acetate abundance in Lens. A common alkaloid in all sprouts was trigonelline, detected at 8–25 µg/mg, suggesting its potential role in legume seeds’ germination. Trigonelline was found at highest levels in Trigonella sprouts. The aromatic NMR region data (δ 11.0–5.0 ppm) provided a better classification power than the full range (δ 11.0–0.0 ppm) as sprout variations mostly originated from secondary metabolites, which can serve as chemotaxonomic markers.