Antihepatotoxic Effect and Metabolite Profiling of Panicum turgidum Extract via UPLC-qTOF-MS

BACKGROUND Panicum turgidum, desert grass, has not reported any detailed phytochemical or biological study as yet. OBJECTIVE To establish P. turgidum secondary metabolite profile and to assess its antihepatotoxic effect. MATERIALS AND METHODS Ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled to quadrupole high-resolution time of flight mass spectrometry (qTOF-MS) was used for large-scale secondary metabolites profiling in P. turgidum extract, alongside assessing median lethal dose (LD50) and hepatoprotective effect against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) intoxication. RESULTS A total of 39 metabolites were identified with flavonoids as the major class present as O/C-glycosides of luteolin, apigenin, isorhamnetin and naringenin, most of which are first time to be reported in Panicum sp. Antihepatotoxic effect of P. turgidum crude extract was revealed via improving several biochemical marker levels and mitigation against oxidative stress in the serum and liver tissues, compared with CCl4 intoxicated group and further confirmed by histopathological examination. CONCLUSION This study reveals that P. turgidum, enriched in C-flavonoids, presents a novel source of safe antihepatotoxic agents and further demonstrates the efficacy of UPLC-MS metabolomics in the field of natural products drug discovery. SUMMARY UPLC coupled to qTOF-MS was used for large scale secondary metabolites profiling in P. turgidum.A total of 39 metabolites were identified with flavonoids amounting as the major metabolite class.Anti-hepatotoxic effect of P. turgidum extract was revealed via several biochemical markers and histopathological examination.This study reveals that P. turgidum, enriched in C-flavonoids, present a novel source of antihepatotoxic agents. Abbreviations used: UPLC: Ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), LD50: median lethal dose, MDA: malondialdehyde, GSH: glutathione reductase, CAT: catalase, SOD: superoxide dismutase, ALT: alanine aminotransferase, AST: aspartate aminotransferase, ALP: alkaline phosphatase, TG: triglycerides.