Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Metabolome fingerprinting elucidates chemodiversity in Ornithogalum, Loncomelos, and Melomphis (Asparagaceae)

Rihai Rad, Khadijeh ; Babaei, Alireza ; Kiani, Mahmoud ; Potter, Daniel and Ardalani, Hamidreza LU (2026) In Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 124.
Abstract

This research employed GC-MS metabolomics profiling on bulbs of three genera i.e., Ornithogalum, Loncomelos, and Melomphis (Asparagaceae), to elucidate their taxonomic relationships. The analysis of 30 specimens across 8 species (Ornithogalum comprising 3 species: O. cuspidatum, O. neurostegium, O. orthophyllum; Loncomelos including 4 species: L. arcuatum, L. brachystachys, L. bungei, L. kurdicum; and Melomphis persica) from Iran revealed 147 detected metabolites, classified in several main superclasses e.g., organic oxygen compounds (40 %), organic acids (23 %), and lipids (18 %). Additionally, the metabolites were grouped into classes, with carbohydrates comprising the majority (42 %), followed by carboxylic acids (17 %) and fatty... (More)

This research employed GC-MS metabolomics profiling on bulbs of three genera i.e., Ornithogalum, Loncomelos, and Melomphis (Asparagaceae), to elucidate their taxonomic relationships. The analysis of 30 specimens across 8 species (Ornithogalum comprising 3 species: O. cuspidatum, O. neurostegium, O. orthophyllum; Loncomelos including 4 species: L. arcuatum, L. brachystachys, L. bungei, L. kurdicum; and Melomphis persica) from Iran revealed 147 detected metabolites, classified in several main superclasses e.g., organic oxygen compounds (40 %), organic acids (23 %), and lipids (18 %). Additionally, the metabolites were grouped into classes, with carbohydrates comprising the majority (42 %), followed by carboxylic acids (17 %) and fatty acids (14 %). Multivariate statistics including the variable importance in projection, and hierarchical clustering heat map discerned metabolites differentiating the genera. Projections to latent structures discriminant analysis revealed that Ornithogalum exhibited significant metabolic divergence from the closely related taxa Loncomelos and Melomphis, aligning with their established phylogenetic divisions. Overall, this work significantly expands knowledge of the chemodiversity of these taxa. The findings provide a phylogenetic framework to guide further ethno-pharmacological, phytochemical, and evolutionary research on these geophyte taxa.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Chemotaxonomy, Evolution, Geophyte, Metabolome fingerprinting, Phylogenetics
in
Biochemical Systematics and Ecology
volume
124
article number
105121
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:105015575280
ISSN
0305-1978
DOI
10.1016/j.bse.2025.105121
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
541fea19-fe5c-498a-87f9-d0992be1d099
date added to LUP
2025-10-02 09:47:32
date last changed
2025-10-02 09:48:34
@article{541fea19-fe5c-498a-87f9-d0992be1d099,
  abstract     = {{<p>This research employed GC-MS metabolomics profiling on bulbs of three genera i.e., Ornithogalum, Loncomelos, and Melomphis (Asparagaceae), to elucidate their taxonomic relationships. The analysis of 30 specimens across 8 species (Ornithogalum comprising 3 species: O. cuspidatum, O. neurostegium, O. orthophyllum; Loncomelos including 4 species: L. arcuatum, L. brachystachys, L. bungei, L. kurdicum; and Melomphis persica) from Iran revealed 147 detected metabolites, classified in several main superclasses e.g., organic oxygen compounds (40 %), organic acids (23 %), and lipids (18 %). Additionally, the metabolites were grouped into classes, with carbohydrates comprising the majority (42 %), followed by carboxylic acids (17 %) and fatty acids (14 %). Multivariate statistics including the variable importance in projection, and hierarchical clustering heat map discerned metabolites differentiating the genera. Projections to latent structures discriminant analysis revealed that Ornithogalum exhibited significant metabolic divergence from the closely related taxa Loncomelos and Melomphis, aligning with their established phylogenetic divisions. Overall, this work significantly expands knowledge of the chemodiversity of these taxa. The findings provide a phylogenetic framework to guide further ethno-pharmacological, phytochemical, and evolutionary research on these geophyte taxa.</p>}},
  author       = {{Rihai Rad, Khadijeh and Babaei, Alireza and Kiani, Mahmoud and Potter, Daniel and Ardalani, Hamidreza}},
  issn         = {{0305-1978}},
  keywords     = {{Chemotaxonomy; Evolution; Geophyte; Metabolome fingerprinting; Phylogenetics}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Biochemical Systematics and Ecology}},
  title        = {{Metabolome fingerprinting elucidates chemodiversity in Ornithogalum, Loncomelos, and Melomphis (Asparagaceae)}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bse.2025.105121}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.bse.2025.105121}},
  volume       = {{124}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}