posted on 2019-08-15, 13:39authored byShuichi Shimma, Takehito Sagawa
Plants
contain many secondary metabolites, which are sometimes used as spices
and
herbal medicines. However, the three-dimensional distribution of metabolites
is usually unknown. In this study, the spatial distribution of curcumin,
one of the main components of dried turmeric root, was examined. Because
dried turmeric samples are extremely hard and impossible to section
with existing cryomicrotomes, we introduced a new sectioning method
and analyzed the two-dimensional distribution of curcumin in turmeric
sections cut in different directions. The geometrical analysis of
the imaging results suggested that curcumin forms tubular components
inside turmeric. The wide-target analysis showed that the spatial
distribution of curcumin analogues was similar to that of curcumin.
Thus, mass spectrometry imaging was successfully implemented for clarifying
the distribution of secondary metabolites in dry plant samples. Understanding
the distribution of metabolites inside the plant body might contribute
to improving their production processes, including the methods for
extraction of active ingredients.