Isomer Differentiation of Daphnane Diterpenoids Using Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Enhanced Identification of Natural Products in Plant

A research group led by Professor Wei Li from the Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, in collaboration with Shenyang Pharmaceutical University in China, developed a method to accurately distinguish functional isomers of daphnane diterpenoid using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Daphnane diterpenoids are characteristic constituents of plants in the families Thymelaeaceae and Euphorbiaceae and have been reported to exhibit anticancer, anti-HIV, and analgesic properties. Therefore, this LC-MS-based analytical approach is expected to facilitate rapid identification of daphnane diterpenoids in plant extract.
This research was published in the scientific journal Phytochemical Analysis on December 19, 2024.

From left: Dr. Zhang Mi, Ms. Kouharu Otsuki, Dr. Wei Li, Dr. Takashi Kikuchi

Key Findings

Analysis of the aerial parts of Daphne tangutica resulted in the identification of 28 daphnane diterpenoids, including seven previously unreported compounds.
This study demonstrated the potential of LC-MS for the rapid identification of daphnane diterpenoids in plant extracts.

Figure 1. Representative structural isomers of daphnane diterpenoids isolated from plants of the Thymelaeaceae family.

Study Overview
This study focused on daphnane diterpenoids, a class of complex natural compounds characterized by a polyfunctionalized 5/7/6 trans-fused tricyclic skeletal structure predominantly found in the Thymelaeaceae and Euphorbiaceae families. These diterpenoids often exist as structural isomers, where the compounds share the same molecular formula but differ in their functional groups. The research group successfully developed an LC-MS-based analytical approach to precisely distinguish these structural isomers. Using this improved approach to analyze the medicinal plant D. tangutica led to the identification of 28 daphnane diterpenoids.

Journal:
Phytochemical Analysis December 19, 2024 issue

Title:
Isomer Differentiation by UHPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap MS led to Enhanced Identification of Daphnane Diterpenoids in Daphne tangutica

Authors: Kouharu Otsuki, Mi Zhang, Lingjian Tan, Masayoshi Komaki, Akane Shimada, Takashi Kikuchi, Di Zhou, Ning Li, Wei Li

DOI: 10.1002/pca.3491

READ FULL ABSTRACT HERE