Corresponding author: Liliia Budniak ( stoyko_li@tdmu.edu.ua ) Academic editor: Plamen Peikov
© 2021 Liudmyla Slobodianiuk, Liliia Budniak, Svitlana Marchyshyn, Liliya Kostyshyn, Oleksandr Zakharchuk.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Slobodianiuk L, Budniak L, Marchyshyn S, Kostyshyn L, Zakharchuk O (2021) Analysis of carbohydrates in Saponaria officinalis L. using GC/MS method. Pharmacia 68(2): 339-345. https://doi.org/10.3897/pharmacia.68.e62691
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Saponaria officinalis L. (common soapwort), usually named fuller’s herb, is encountered in most of Europe, in Spain, France, Italy, for example, and also in Syria and North Africa. Saponaria officinalis L. is known in most of the world as an introduced species, often a weed, and sometimes as cultivated decorative plant. Saponaria officinalis contains a large amount of saponins, which foam during extraction with water. In addition to saponins, common soapwort also contains flavonoids, quillaic acid, fatty acids and different phenolic compounds. There is a lack of information about carbohydrates content of common soapwort. Thus the aim of this study was to determine the content of carbohydrates Saponaria officinalis L. herb and roots. The qualitative composition and quantitative content of carbohydrates in herb and roots of Saponaria officinalis L. were determined by using GC/MS method. The studies have shown that Saponaria officinalis L. herb is mainly composed of free carbohydrates such as D-glucose (3.65 mg/g), D-galactose (0.29 mg/g), D-fructose (0.20 mg/g) and D-saccharose (3.72 mg/g). In common soapwort herb, after acidic hydrolysis and derivatization with acetylated aldononitriles, D-arabinose, D-fucose, D-mannose, D-glucose, D-galactose, D-fructose and Myo-inositol were identified. Free carbohydrates in the roots of Saponaria officinalis L., including D-glucose, D-galactose and D-saccharose, were determined with GC/MS method too. D-saccharose was common among free carbohydrates of Saponaria officinalis L. in the largest amounts. Its content in herb and roots of the common soapwort was 3.72 mg/g and 25.39 mg/g respectively.
Saponaria officinalis L., common soapwort, carbohydrates, GC/MS
Plant metabolites are close to the metabolites of the human body, and the main effect of the herbal remedies usage is the regulation of metabolic disorders (
Saponaria species (family Caryophyllaceae) are perennial, flowering plants, characteristic to Europe and Asia, and usually known as soapworts (
The various parts of Saponaria officinalis have been used in traditional medicine, roots and leaves for skin diseases; roots as diuretic, diaphoretic, blood purifier; sap for scabies, to increase bile flow and hepatic eruptions. In addition, the roots are used as an anti-crystalline cholagogue that cleanses the body for medicinal purposes (
Saponaria officinalis contains a large amount of saponins, which foam during extraction with water (
In addition to saponins, common soapwort also contains flavonoids, quillaic acid, fatty acids and different phenolic compounds (
The roots of Saponaria officinalis L. contain three oligosaccharides. Two of them were isolated namely gentiobiose and the pentasaccharide saponarose (
Extracts from the roots of common soapwort are used as a substitute for existing acaricides, that can enable to achieve a significant reduction in the risks associated with the use of synthetic pesticides (
However, there have been no scientific reports on the content of Saponaria officinalis L. carbohydrates. In this regard, this work is carried out to determine the chemical composition of these compounds in the study of raw materials.
Herb and roots of Saponaria officinalis L. (common soapwort) are collected are collected in Western Ukraine, Chernivtsi region (48°15’33.1”N, 25°12’01.9”E). The aboveground part was collected during a mass flowering period and roots were collected in autumn after the death of the aboveground parts in 2019. The raw material was authenticated by prof. Svitlana Marchyshyn (TNMU, Ternopil, Ukraine).
Standard of polysaccharides, including D-mannose, L-rhamnose, D-ribose, D-galactose, D-arabinose, D-fructose, D-xylose, D-glucose, D-sorbitol, D-saccharose, D-fucose, derived from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA) were of analytical grade (> 95% purity) (Figure
GC/MS analysis of monosaccharides composition of Saponaria officinalis L. herb and roots was performed using gas chromatograph Agilent 6890N with 5973 inert mass detector (Agilent Technologies, USA) and a capillary column HP-5MS (30 m × 0.25 mm × 0.25 µm). The oven temperature was initially set at 160 °C, held for 8 min, then raised to 240 °C at the rate of 5 °C/min and finally kept at this point for 6 min. Injections were made in the split mode 1:50. The detection was performed in the SCAN mode at the width range of 38–400 m/z. Helium was used as the carrier gas at a constant flow rate of 1.2 ml/min.
For the extraction of bonded monosaccharides (monosaccharides after hydrolysis) 500 mg of powdered roots or herb of the common soapwort was placed into the flask and added 5 ml of 2 M trifluoroacetic acid. Hydrolysis was performed in the ultrasonic bath under 100 °C for 6 hours. Then, 2 ml of obtained hydrolysate were evaporated to dryness and 2 ml of an internal standard (sorbitol) was added (
For the extraction of free monosaccharides, 10 ml of methanol solution with internal standard (sorbitol) (0.5 mg per sample) was added to 500 mg of powdered raw material. The extraction took place at 80 °C for 4 hours. To obtain acetylated aldonitriles 2 ml of the extract was evaporated to dryness and was added 0.3 ml of derivatization reagent (32 mg/ml of hydroxylamine hydrochloride in pyridine/methanol (4:1 v/v)). The extract was kept at 75 °C for 25 min. To the samples was subsequently added 1 ml of acetic anhydride and incubated at 75 °C for 15 min. 2 ml of dichloroethane was added and the excess of the derivatization reagents was removed by the double extraction with 1 M hydrochloric acid and water. The dichloroethane layer was dried and dissolved in 300 μl of the mixture of heptane/ethyl acetate (1:1 v/v).
Identification of monosaccharides was based on their retention times compared to standards and mass library NIST 02. Quantification was done by using internal standard of sorbitol added to the sample (
Statistica v 10.0 (StatSoft I nc.) program was used for descriptive statistical analysis. The level of significance was set at *p < 0.05 for all statistical analyses.
The analytical method was validated in terms of linearity, detection limit, precision, stability, repeatability and recovery. A total of 10 standard sugars (D-mannose, L-rhamnose, D-ribose, D-galactose, D-arabinose, D-fructose, D-xylose, D-glucose, D-saccharose, D-fucose) were used for these tests.
All calibration curves were established by plotting the chromatographic peak area of monosaccharide derivatives versus the concentration of the corresponding monosaccharide solution shown in Table
Calibration curves, linear ranges, limits of detection (LOD), and limit of quantification (LOQ) for individual carbohydrates after GC/MS analysis.
Carbohydrates | R2 | LOD (µmol/L) | LOQ (µmol/L) |
Ribose | 0.9998 | 0.19 | 0.63 |
Rhamnose | 0.9999 | 0.83 | 2.76 |
Arabinose | 0.9999 | 0.22 | 0.73 |
Fucose | 0.9998 | 0.54 | 1.80 |
Xylose | 0.9995 | 1.15 | 3.83 |
Mannose | 0.9999 | 0.37 | 1.23 |
Glucose | 0.9999 | 0.29 | 0.97 |
Galactose | 0.9998 | 0.74 | 2.47 |
Fructose | 0.9996 | 0.57 | 1.90 |
Saccharose | 0.9991 | 0.78 | 2.60 |
GC/MS represents an effective, comprehensive and quantitative technique for analysis of carbohydrates. Thus, the qualitative composition and quantitative content of sugars in Saponaria officinalis L. was determined by this method. Table
The studies have shown that Saponaria officinalis L. herb is mainly composed of free carbohydrates such as D-glucose (3.65 mg/g), D-galactose (0.29 mg/g), D-fructose (0.20 mg/g) and D-saccharose (3.72 mg/g) (Figure
In common soapwort herb, after acidic hydrolysis and derivatization with acetylated aldononitriles, D-arabinose, D-fucose, D-mannose, D-glucose, D-galactose, D-fructose and Myo-inositol were identified too (Figure
Free carbohydrates in the roots of Saponaria officinalis L., including D-glucose, D-galactose and D-saccharose, were determined with GC/MS method too (Figure
Various monosaccharides such as D-arabinose, D-fucose, D-xylose, D-mannose, D-glucose, D-galactose and D-fructose were observed at varying degrees in the investigated roots of common soapwort after acidic hydrolysis and derivatization with acetylated aldononitriles (Figure
The quantitative content of carbohydrates is presented in Table
The content of monosaccharides, their derivatives after hydrolysis and free monosaccharides of Saponaria officinalis L.
Retention time | The name of the compounds | The content of the carbohydrates, mg/g x̄ ±Δ x̄, n=3, P<0.05 |
|||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Free carbohydrates | Monosaccharides and their derivatives after hydrolysis | ||||
Herb | Roots | Herb | Roots | ||
8.61 | D-arabinose | – | – | 2.93±0.06 | 1.66±0.01 |
9.12 | D-fucose | – | – | 7.18±0.08 | 5.28±0.04 |
9.95 | D-xylose | – | – | – | 0.73±0.01 |
15.25 | D- mannose | – | – | 1.65±0.03 | 2.25±0.02 |
15.57 | D-glucose | 3.65±0.05 | 0.73±0.02 | 30.25±0.14 | 23.08±0.11 |
16.06 | D-galactose | 0.29±0.01 | 2.18±0.04 | 9.17±0.07 | 33.91±0.16 |
18.40 | Myo-inositol | – | – | 2.62±0.02 | – |
18.92 | D-Sorbitol | internal standard | |||
23.73 | D-fructose | 0.20±0.01 | – | 3.68±0.05 | 10.79±0.09 |
34.11 | D-saccharose | 3.72±0.06 | 25.39±0.15 | – | – |
D-saccharose was common among free carbohydrates of Saponaria officinalis L. in the largest amounts. Its content in herb and roots of the common soapwort was 3.72 mg/g and 25.39 mg/g respectively. Saccharose (table sugar), the most common disaccharide, is formed by glycosidic bond between the α-glucose and β-fructose molecule (
Also, the GC/MS method identified monosaccharides and their derivatives after hydrolysis in the herb and roots of Saponaria officinalis L. (Figures
In the herb of Saponaria officinalis L. predominant ones were D-glucose 30.25 mg/g, D-galactose 9.17 mg/g and D-fucose 7.18 mg/g. Fucose is a deoxyhexose, which is present in a wide variety of organisms. In mammals, fucose-containing glycans play serious role in blood transfusion reactions and selectin-mediated leukocyte-endothelial adhesion. Alterations in the expression of fucosylated oligosaccharides have also been observed in several pathological processes, including atherosclerosis and cancer (
In the roots of common soapwort was defined the higher content of D-galactose 33.91 mg/g, D-glucose 23.08 mg/g and D-fructose 10.79 mg/g among monosaccharides after hydrolysis. Fructose is a simple monosaccharide found in many foods and one of the three very important blood sugars along with galactose and glucose (
To conclude, there is a growing interest in carbohydrates and their derivatives in the recent years. The carbohydrates, present in Saponaria officinalis L. herb and roots, have been studied by GC/MS analysis. The data revealed that four free carbohydrates, such as D-glucose, D-galactose, D-fructose and D-saccharose, were present in the herb of common soapwort. We also determined 3 free carbohydrates in Saponaria officinalis L. roots. The main compounds were D-glucose and D-galactose. Among the monosaccharides after hydrolysis in the herb of Saponaria officinalis L. prevail D-glucose (30.25 mg/g), D-galactose (9.17 mg/g) and D-fucose (7.18 mg/g). The main compounds identified in the roots were D-galactose (33.91 mg/g), D-glucose (23.08 mg/g) and D-fructose (10.79 mg/g). That allowed these carbohydrates to be considered distinguishing markers of Saponaria officinalis L. herb and roots. To sum up, we suggest that the common soapwort is a promising plant for medicinal purposes because of its remarkable role in a variety of biological functions.