PhD Scientific Days 2022

Pharmaceutical Sciences II. (Poster discussion will take place in the Aula during the Coffee Break)

Analysis of Nitropropionic acid content of various Fabaceae species

Text of the abstract

Introduction
Nitropropionic acid (NPA) is a toxic molecule which can be found in specific genera of Fabaceae family. Some of these plants are used as forage, while others have a tradition in ethnomedicine, or their extracts are used in cosmetics.
Objectives
Our aim was to develop a reliable and validated quantitative method to measure the NPA content of selected Fabaceae species, Securigera varia (L.) Lassen, Lotus corniculatus L. and Anthyllis vulneraria L. and their cosmetical products.
Materials and Methods
The extracts of the plants were investigated by UHPLC-ESI-Orbitrap-MS/MS for detecting NPA derivatives in the form of glucose esters. After the confirmation of the presence of these molecules, an optimized hydrolysis and extraction method were developed. The free NPA content was determined using HPLC-ESI-MS/MS.
Results
The presence of NPA esters could be detected in all three species, but their content showed a high variety. The aerial part of S. varia was already a known source of NPA, but its root resulted to be even richer, which contradicts previous results. We firstly analyzed the NPA content of A. vulneraria, the root contained NPA in similar concentration to S. varia root, but the aerial part stored an order of magnitude lower amount. L. corniculatus contains the lowest levels of NPA, only storing it in the leaves and stems. The tested cosmetic samples made of A. vulneraria were free of NPA.
Conclusions
The freshly made extracts of the investigated plants should not be used internally since they contain a considerable amount of NPA.
Funding
This project was supported by the ÚNKP-4-II-SE-23 New National Excellence Program provided by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office.