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Planta Med 2012; 78(1): 90-101
DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1280117
Analytical Studies
Original Papers
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Metabolomic Differentiation of Maca (Lepidium meyenii) Accessions Cultivated under Different Conditions Using NMR and Chemometric Analysis

Jianping Zhao1 , Bharathi Avula1 , Michael Chan2 , 3 , Céline Clément4 , Michael Kreuzer4 , Ikhlas A. Khan1 , 2
  • 1National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA
  • 2Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA
  • 3British Columbia Institute of Technology, Burnaby, B. C., Canada
  • 4ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland
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Publication History

received January 14, 2011 revised May 25, 2011

accepted July 6, 2011

Publication Date:
19 August 2011 (online)

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Abstract

To gain insights on the effects of color type, cultivation history, and growing site on the composition alterations of maca (Lepidium meyenii Walpers) hypocotyls, NMR profiling combined with chemometric analysis was applied to investigate the metabolite variability in different maca accessions. Maca hypocotyls with different colors (yellow, pink, violet, and lead-colored) cultivated at different geographic sites and different areas were examined for differences in metabolite expression. Differentiations of the maca accessions grown under the different cultivation conditions were determined by principle component analyses (PCAs) which were performed on the datasets derived from their 1H NMR spectra. A total of 16 metabolites were identified by NMR analysis, and the changes in metabolite levels in relation to the color types and growing conditions of maca hypocotyls were evaluated using univariate statistical analysis. In addition, the changes of the correlation pattern among the metabolites identified in the maca accessions planted at the two different sites were examined. The results from both multivariate and univariate analysis indicated that the planting site was the major determining factor with regards to metabolite variations in maca hypocotyls, while the color of maca accession seems to be of minor importance in this respect.

Key words

maca - Lepidium meyenii - Brassicaceae - metabolite - NMR - chemometrics

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