Comparison of Metabolomics Approaches for Evaluating the Variability of Complex Botanical Preparations: Green Tea (Camellia sinensis) as a Case Study

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Nadja B. Cech, Patricia A. Sullivan Distinguished Professor of Chemistry (Creator)
Tyler Graf, Research Scientist (Creator)
Joshua J. Kellogg, NIH Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Creator)
Nicholas Oberlies, Patricia A. Sullivan Distinguished Professor of Chemistry (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: A challenge that must be addressed when conducting studies with complex natural products is how to evaluate their complexity and variability. Traditional methods of quantifying a single or a small range of metabolites may not capture the full chemical complexity of multiple samples. Different metabolomics approaches were evaluated to discern how they facilitated comparison of the chemical composition of commercial green tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze] products, with the goal of capturing the variability of commercially used products and selecting representative products for in vitro or clinical evaluation. Three metabolomic-related methods—untargeted ultraperformance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS), targeted UPLC-MS, and untargeted, quantitative 1HNMR—were employed to characterize 34 commercially available green tea samples. Of these methods, untargeted UPLC-MS was most effective at discriminating between green tea, green tea supplement, and non-green-tea products. A method using reproduced correlation coefficients calculated from principal component analysis models was developed to quantitatively compare differences among samples. The obtained results demonstrated the utility of metabolomics employing UPLC-MS data for evaluating similarities and differences between complex botanical products.

Additional Information

Publication
Journal of Natural Products, 80 (5), 1457-1466
Language: English
Date: 2017
Keywords
metabolites, green tea, camellia sinensis, ultraperformance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, UPLC-MS, 1HNMR

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