Molecular differentiation of five Cinnamomum camphora chemotypes using desorption atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry of raw leaves

Sci Rep. 2017 Apr 20:7:46579. doi: 10.1038/srep46579.

Abstract

Five chemotypes, the isoborneol-type, camphora-type, cineole-type, linalool-type and borneol-type of Cinnamomum camphora (L.) Presl have been identified at the molecular level based on the multivariate analysis of mass spectral fingerprints recorded from a total of 750 raw leaf samples (i.e., 150 leaves equally collected for each chemotype) using desorption atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (DAPCI-MS). Both volatile and semi-volatile metabolites of the fresh leaves of C. camphora were simultaneously detected by DAPCI-MS without any sample pretreatment, reducing the analysis time from half a day using conventional methods (e.g., GC-MS) down to 30 s. The pattern recognition results obtained using principal component analysis (PCA) was cross-checked by cluster analysis (CA), showing that the difference visualized by the DAPCI-MS spectral fingerprints was validated with 100% accuracy. The study demonstrates that DAPCI-MS meets the challenging requirements for accurate differentiation of all the five chemotypes of C. camphora leaves, motivating more advanced application of DAPCI-MS in plant science and forestry studies.

MeSH terms

  • Acyclic Monoterpenes
  • Atmospheric Pressure*
  • Camphanes / analysis
  • Camphor / analysis
  • Cinnamomum camphora / chemistry*
  • Cinnamomum camphora / classification
  • Cluster Analysis
  • Eucalyptol / analysis
  • Monoterpenes / analysis
  • Plant Leaves / chemistry*
  • Principal Component Analysis
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / methods*

Substances

  • Acyclic Monoterpenes
  • Camphanes
  • Monoterpenes
  • Camphor
  • linalool
  • isoborneol
  • Eucalyptol