Ligusticum organs show distinct flavonoid and phenolic acid profiles

A comparative metabolomic study of Ligusticum jeholense found that its roots, stems and leaves contain markedly different mixtures of flavonoids and phenolic acids. Leaves had the highest total flavonoid content and the strongest measured antioxidant capacity, while roots had the highest total phenolic acid content. The results indicate that the plant’s tissues are chemically distinct, with the aerial and underground organs accumulating different classes of compounds.

Researchers examined roots, stems and leaves using widely targeted metabolomics based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry, or UPLC-MS/MS. The analysis detected and putatively annotated 2,871 metabolites, including 303 flavonoids and 339 phenolic acids. The investigators used comparative screening to identify 2,330 differentially accumulated metabolites across the three tissues and then highlighted 17 candidates as key tissue-specific metabolites.

Among those candidates, 12 were flavonoids and five were phenolic acids. Leaves were characterized by flavonoids, including derivatives of kaempferol, luteolin and quercetin. The study specifically identified kaempferol-O-acetyl-hexoside, luteolin O-acetyl-hexoside and quercetin O-acetyl-hexoside as characteristic leaf-associated metabolites. Roots were instead characterized by phenolic acids, including hydroxy-methoxy cinnamic acid, ferulic acid, isoferulic acid and acetylmethoxybenzoic acid. These compound assignments were reported as tentative tissue-specific metabolites within the metabolomic analysis.

Relative quantitative measurements supported the broader division between the organs: total flavonoid content was highest in leaves, whereas total phenolic acid content peaked in roots. The results therefore associate leaves with a flavonoid-dominant pattern and roots with a phenolic-acid-dominant pattern. The supplied findings do not report the corresponding total levels for stems relative to those two organs, so they do not support characterizing stems as having an intermediate chemical profile.

Antioxidant capacity was positively correlated with total flavonoid and total phenolic acid contents, and leaves showed the strongest activity in the antioxidant assessment. This was an association between each organ’s measured composition and its assay result; it does not establish that any single flavonoid or phenolic acid caused the effect. The work was conducted on plant tissues and included no human clinical outcomes, so its findings cannot be interpreted as evidence of health benefits in people.

The study provides a chemical map of how selected compounds accumulate in the roots, stems and leaves of L. jeholense. That distinction may inform evaluations of the plant for functional foods and pharmaceutical uses, both of which were proposed by the researchers as potential areas of application. The conclusion was that the contents of flavonoids and phenolic acids vary among the plant’s organs and that the different tissues accumulate characteristic metabolite profiles. The plant metabolomics and antioxidant comparison nevertheless remains a laboratory study, and the reported results do not by themselves establish efficacy, safety or clinical recommendations.

Subject of Research: Organ-specific flavonoid and phenolic acid profiles in Ligusticum jeholense

Article Title: Comparative analysis of flavonoids and phenolic acids metabolites from different parts of Ligusticum jeholense

Article References: Fan, Y., Yu, C., Liu, K., Wang, H., Lu, Y., Li, Y., Yang, Z., & Sun, W. (2026). Comparative analysis of flavonoids and phenolic acids metabolites from different parts of Ligusticum jeholense. BMC Plant Biology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-026-09902-y

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12870-026-09902-y

Keywords: Ligusticum jeholense, plant metabolomics, flavonoids, phenolic acids, UPLC-MS/MS, plant organs, antioxidant capacity, tissue-specific metabolites, Comparative, analysis, phenolic, acids