Reaction of the Phytochemistry Community to Green Chemistry: Insights Obtained Since 1990.

This review article aims to study how phytochemists have reacted to green chemistry insights since 1990, the year when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched the "Pollution Prevention Act". For each year in the period 1990 to 2019, three highly cited phytochemistry papers that provided enough information about the experimental procedures utilized were sampled. The "greenness" of these procedures was assessed, particularly for the use of solvents. The highly hazardous diethyl ether, benzene, and carbon tetrachloride did not appear in the papers sampled after 2010. Advances in terms of sustainability were observed mainly in the extraction stage. Similar progress was not observed in purification procedures, where chloroform, dichloromethane, and hexane regularly have been employed. Since replacing such solvents in purification procedures should be a major goal, potential alternative approaches are discussed. Moreover, some current initiatives toward a more sustainable phytochemical research considering aspects other than only solvents are highlighted. Although some advances have been achieved, it is believed that natural products chemists can play a major role in developing a novel ecological paradigm in chemistry. To contribute to this objective, six principles for performing natural products chemistry consistent with the guidelines of green chemistry are proposed.

Natural Products Drug Discovery: On Silica or In-Silico?

Natural products have been the most important source for drug development throughout the human history. Over time, the formulation of drugs has evolved from crude drugs to refined chemicals. In modern drug discovery, conventional natural products lead-finding usually uses a top-down approach, namely bio-guided fractionation. In this approach, the crude extracts are separated by chromatography and resulting fractions are tested for activity. Subsequently, active fractions are further refined until a single active compound is obtained. However, this is a painstakingly slow and expensive process. Among the alternatives that have been developed to improve this situation, metabolomics has proved to yield interesting results having been applied successfully to drug discovery in the last two decades. The metabolomics-based approach in lead-finding comprises two steps: (1) in-depth chemical profiling of target samples, e.g. plant extracts, and bioactivity assessment, (2) correlation of the chemical and biological data by chemometrics. In the first step of this approach, the target samples are chemically profiled in an untargeted manner to detect as many compounds as possible. So far, NMR spectroscopy, LC-MS, GC-MS, and MS/MS spectrometry are the most common profiling tools. The profile data are correlated with the biological activity with the help of various chemometric methods such as multivariate data analysis. This in-silico analysis has a high potential to replace or complement conventional on-silica bioassay-guided fractionation as it will greatly reduce the number of bioassays, and thus time and costs. Moreover, it may reveal synergistic mechanisms, when present, something for which the classical top-down approach is clearly not suited. This chapter aims to give an overview of successful approaches based on the application of chemical profiling with chemometrics in natural products drug discovery.

Do Fungicides Affect Alkaloid Production in Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don. Seedlings?

The presence of endophytes in plants is undeniable, but how significant their involvement is in the host plant biosynthetic pathways is still unclear. The results reported from fungicide treatments in plants varied. Fungicide treatment in Taxus was found to decrease the taxol content. In Ipomoea asarifolia, Pronto Plus and Folicur treatments coincided with the disappearance of ergot alkaloids from the plant. In Narcissus pseudonarcissus cv. Carlton, a mixture of fungicide applications decreased the alkaloids concentration and altered the carbohydrate metabolism. Jacobaea plants treated with Folicur reduced the pyrrolizidine alkaloids content. There have not been any studies into the involvement of endophytic fungi on alkaloids production of Catharanthus roseus until now. Though there is a report on the isolation of the endophytic fungi, Fusarium oxysporum from C. roseus, which was reported to produce vinblastine and vincristine in vitro. To detect possible collaborations between these two different organisms, fungicides were applied to suppress the endophytic fungi in seedlings and then measure the metabolomes by 1HNMR and HPLC analysis. The results indicate that endophytic fungi were not directly involved in alkaloids biosynthesis. Treatment with fungicides influenced both the primary and secondary metabolism of C. roseus. The systemic fungicides Pronto Plus and Folicur caused an increase in loganin and secologanin levels. In contrast, control samples had higher level of catharanthine and vindoline. This means that fungicide treatments cause changes in plant secondary metabolism.

Measuring the health effects of food by metabolomics.

Metabolomics of human biological fluids or tissues is used to discover markers for diseases by comparing the metabolome of the patients against healthy individuals. Ultimately, these markers can be used in drug discovery to determine how medications normalize (at least in part) the human metabolome at specific disease stages to homeostatic. Likewise, the health effects of food can be studied. Even metabolomics of the food can be combined with metabolomics of the treated patients to correlate compounds from food with measurable health effects from clinical studies. Various chemometric analyses of these metabolomics data are used to identify markers for diseases and to obtain evidence for health effects. This review discusses recent researches (published from 2013 to 2021) on whether specific dietary intervention to humans suffering from metabolic disorders may improve their pathological status. The scope is limited to those associated with major lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases, for which food is thought may have detrimental as well as beneficial effects on human health. It includes metabolites characterization of different biological samples such as the human serum/plasma, urine, saliva, feces, or ileal fluid. Whether the study results supported the claimed health benefits and whether the research was conducted with appropriate study design, was criticized.

Pressurized Natural Deep Eutectic Solvent Extraction of Galanthamine and Related Alkaloids from Narcissus pseudonarcissus.

The isolation of a compound from a natural source involves many organic and mostly toxic solvents for extraction and purification. Natural deep eutectic solvents have been shown to be efficient options for the extraction of natural products. They have the advantage of being composed of abundantly available common primary metabolites, being nontoxic and environmentally safe solvents. The aim of this study was to develop a natural deep eutectic solvent-based extraction method for galanthamine, an important therapeutic agent for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. This alkaloid can be produced by synthesis or by extraction from Narcissus bulbs. To develop an efficient extraction method, a number of different natural deep eutectic solvents was first tested for their solubilization capacity of galanthamine bromide salt. Promising results were obtained for ionic liquids, as well as some amphoteric and acidic natural deep eutectic solvents. In a two-cycle extraction process, the best solvents were tested for the extraction of galanthamine from bulbs. The ionic liquids produced poor yields, and the best results were obtained with some acid and sugar mixtures, among which malic acid-sucrose-water (1 : 1 : 5) proved to be the best, showing similar yields to that of the exhaustive Soxhlet extraction with methanol. Furthermore, the natural deep eutectic solvent was more selective for galanthamine.

Latex Metabolome of Euphorbia Species: Geographical and Inter-Species Variation and its Proposed Role in Plant Defense against Herbivores and Pathogens.

Based on the hypothesis that the variation of the metabolomes of latex is a response to selective pressure and should thus be affected differently from other organs, their variation could provide an insight into the defensive chemical selection of plants. Metabolic profiling was used to compare tissues of three Euphorbia species collected in diverse regions. The metabolic variation of latexes was much more limited than that of other organs. In all the species, the levels of polyisoprenes and terpenes were found to be much higher in latexes than in leaves and roots of the corresponding plants. Polyisoprenes were observed to physically delay the contact of pathogens with plant tissues and their growth. A secondary barrier composed of terpenes in latex and in particular, 24-methylenecycloartanol, exhibited antifungal activity. These results added to the well-known role of enzymes also present in latexes, show that these are part of a cooperative defense system comprising biochemical and physical elements.

Solubility and Stability of Some Pharmaceuticals in Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents-Based Formulations.

Some medicines are poorly soluble in water. For tube feeding and parenteral administration, liquid formulations are required. The discovery of natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) opened the way to potential applications for liquid drug formulations. NADES consists of a mixture of two or more simple natural products such as sugars, amino acids, organic acids, choline/betaine, and poly-alcohols in certain molar ratios. A series of NADES with a water content of 0-30% (w/w) was screened for the ability to solubilize (in a stable way) some poorly water-soluble pharmaceuticals at a concentration of 5 mg/mL. The results showed that NADES selectively dissolved the tested drugs. Some mixtures of choline-based NADES, acid-neutral or sugars-based NADES could dissolve chloral hydrate (dissociated in water), ranitidine·HCl (polymorphism), and methylphenidate (water insoluble), at a concentration of up to 250 mg/mL, the highest concentration tested. Whereas a mixture of lactic-acid-propyleneglycol could dissolve spironolacton and trimethoprim at a concentration up to 50 and 100 mg/mL, respectively. The results showed that NADES are promising solvents for formulation of poorly water-soluble medicines for the development of parenteral and tube feeding administration of non-water-soluble medicines. The chemical stability and bioavailability of these drug in NADES needs further studies.

The perspectives of natural deep eutectic solvents in agri-food sector.

The principles of 'green chemistry' are gaining importance in agri-food sector due to the need to reduce pollution from toxic chemicals, make industrial processes safer and more sustainable, and to offer 'clean-labeled products' required by the consumers. The application of natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) - natural product-based green liquids is considered the promising alternative to conventional organic solvents. This review is intended to summarize and discuss recent advances related to physicochemical properties of NADES, their applications, compatibility with analytic techniques and toxicological profile, pointing out the challenges and necessary improvements for their wider utilization in agri-food sector. NADES allow extraction of wide range of food compounds and they are proven to be convenient for food-related applications. However, their potential for industrial scale-up utilization is not completely investigated. Examined NADES are readily biodegradable, but only preliminary studies on NADES toxicity which include limited number of NADES molecules are available. Apart from fundamental research dealing with NADES formation and the nature of the interactions and structure underpinning the liquid phase formation, the question of purity of NADES obtained by different synthetic methodologies need to be addressed in the future. Data on physicochemical properties of synthetized NADES are still needed as they are relevant for industrial applications.

Natural Deep Eutectic Solvent Extraction of Flavonoids of Scutellaria baicalensis as a Replacement for Conventional Organic Solvents.

Natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) are a type of ionic liquid (IL) or deep eutectic solvent (DES), the ingredients of which are exclusively natural products (non-toxic and environmentally friendly). Here, we explore the potential of NADES as an alternative to conventional organic solvents (e.g., aqueous methanol or ethanol) for the extraction of flavonoids from Scutellaria baicalensis stem bark to investigate their extractability depending on structural variation. Four NADES, each containing citric acid in combination with ß-alanine, glucose, xylitol, or proline (at a molar ratio of 1:1), and a variable amount of water, were used to extract the flavonoid aglycones: baicalein (1), scutellarein (3), wogonin (5), and oroxylin A (7), and their glycosides, baicalin (2), scutellarin (4), wogonoside (6) and oroxyloside (8) from the powdered bark of S. baicalensis. The chemical profile and yield of the extracts were determined using HPTLC and HPLC. The extractability of individual flavonoids was found to be influenced by the concentration of water (20-60%, w/w) in the NADES. Among the tested flavonoids, the extraction yield of baicalein (1), scutellarein (3), wogonin (5), oroxylin A (7) with NADES was 2 to 6 times that of aqueous methanol. However, the amount of their corresponding glycosides (baicalin (2), wogonoside (6) and oroxyloside (8)) extracted with NADES was only 1.5-1.8 times higher than with aqueous methanol. Interestingly, the more hydrophilic glycosides were less extracted than their corresponding aglycones despite the high hydrophilicity of the NADES. These results prove that NADES may be used for extraction of compounds with a wide range of hydrophilicity.

LC-ESI-MS/MS profiling of phenolics from Eleutherococcus spp. inflorescences, structure-activity relationship as antioxidants, inhibitors of hyaluronidase and acetylcholinesterase.

Nature is a source of many plant-based molecules used as pro- or drugs. Eleutherococcus species are native to Asia and the North Russia, and are traditionally used to treat various diseases. In turn, neither secondary metabolites of the species cultivated in the West Europe nor the bioactivity is known. No differences in the phenols and flavonoids content in the inflorescences were found. The richest in polyphenols was E. giraldii (5.18 mg/g), while in flavonoids it was E. gracilistylus (1.80 mg/g). Using LC-ESI-MS/MS, protocatechuic and trans-caffeic acids have been identified as the most abundant compounds in E. gracilistylus, E. giraldii, E. senticosus (833.4; 855.6; 614.7 and 280.8; 156.0; 167.6 µg/g DE). It was observed that all species were able to chelate Fe2+ with the EC50 value of 0.2, 0.6, 0.3 mg/mL for E. gracilistylus, E. giraldii, E. senticosus, respectively. E. gracilistylus exhibited the strongest antiperoxidation and anti-DPPH∗ activity (EC50 3.2 and 0.48 mg/mL). The weak inhibitory potential has been observed in case of AChE inhibition at the level of 16.17 and 12.2% for E. gracilistylus, E. giraldii. We report for the first time that the extracts inhibited Hyal activity in the range from 16.4 to 60.7%. To our best knowledge, no information was available on this activity of the inflorescences and this provides a background to study inflorescences in more detail. Considering the SAR, an antioxidant activity may be correlated with a high amount of protocatechuic and trans-caffeic acids and their chemical structure.

Antistaphylococcal Prenylated Acylphoroglucinol and Xanthones from Kielmeyera variabilis.

Bioactivity-guided fractionation of the EtOH extract of the branches of Kielmeyera variabilis led to the isolation of a new acylphoroglucinol (1), which was active against all the MRSA strains tested herein, with pronounced activity against strain EMRSA-16. Compound 1 displayed an MIC of 0.5 mg/L as compared with an MIC of 128 mg/L for the control antibiotic norfloxacin. The structure of the new compound was elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analysis and mass spectrometry, and experimental and calculated ECD were used to determine the absolute configurations. The compounds ß-sitosterol (2), stigmasterol (3), ergost-5-en-3-ol (4), and osajaxanthone (5) also occurred in the n-hexane fraction. The EtOAc fraction contained nine known xanthones: 3,6-dihydroxy-1,4,8-trimethoxyxanthone (6), 3,5-dihydroxy-4-methoxyxanthone (7), 3,4-dihydroxy-6,8-dimethoxyxanthone (8), 3,4-dihydroxy-2-methoxyxanthone (9), 5-hydroxy-1,3-dimethoxyxanthone (10), 4-hydroxy-2,3-dimethoxyxanthone (11), kielcorin (12), 3-hydroxy-2-methoxyxanthone (13), and 2-hydroxy-1-methoxyxanthone (14), which showed moderate to low activity against the tested MRSA strains.

Fungal endophytes of Vanilla planifolia across Réunion Island: isolation, distribution and biotransformation.

BACKGROUND: The objective of the work was to characterize fungal endophytes from aerial parts of Vanilla planifolia. Also, to establish their biotransformation abilities of flavor-related metabolites. This was done in order to find a potential role of endophytes on vanilla flavors. RESULTS: Twenty three MOTUs were obtained, representing 6 fungal classes. Fungi from green pods were cultured on mature green pod based media for 30 days followed by (1)H NMR and HPLC-DAD analysis. All fungi from pods consumed metabolized vanilla flavor phenolics. Though Fusarium proliferatum was recovered more often (37.6% of the isolates), it is Pestalotiopsis microspora (3.0%) that increased the absolute amounts (quantified by (1)H NMR in µmol/g DW green pods) of vanillin (37.0 × 10(-3)), vanillyl alcohol (100.0 × 10(-3)), vanillic acid (9.2 × 10(-3)) and p-hydroxybenzoic acid (87.9 × 10(-3)) by significant amounts. CONCLUSIONS: All plants studied contained endophytic fungi and the isolation of the endophytes was conducted from plant organs at nine sites in Réunion Island including under shade house and undergrowth conditions. Endophytic variation occured between cultivation practices and the type of organ. Given the physical proximity of fungi inside pods, endophytic biotransformation may contribute to the complexity of vanilla flavors.

Investigation of chemomarkers of astragali radix of different ages and geographical origin by NMR profiling.

Astragalus roots from Astragalus membranaceus Bunge or Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus (Bunge) Hsiao are among the most popular traditional medicinal plants due to their diverse therapeutic uses based on their tonic, antinephritic, immunostimulant, hepatoprotectant, diuretic, antidiabetic, analgesic, expectorant and sedative properties. Currently, the herb is produced or cultivated in various sites, including 10 different locations in China with very diverse environmental conditions. These differences affect their metabolic pools and consequently their medicinal properties. The comparative metabolic profiling of plants of different geographical origins or ages could contribute to detect biomarkers for their quality control and thus guarantee the efficacy of the herbal medicines produced with this drug. In this paper nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR)-based metabolomics was applied for to plants of different origins and age for this purpose. The results of this study show that in the set of samples evaluated, age is more discriminating than geographical location. The quantity of individual flavonoids and some primary metabolites contributed most to this age differentiation. On the other hand, based on the analysis of orthogonal partial least square (OPLS) modeling, the marker metabolites for the geographical origin were saponins and isoflavonoids.

Plant-derived food ingredients for stimulation of energy expenditure.

The development of obesity is related to the regulation of energy intake, energy expenditure, and energy storage in the body. Increasing energy expenditure by inducing lipolysis followed by fat oxidation is one of the alternatives which could help to reverse this increasingly widespread condition. Currently, there is no approved drug targeting on stimulation of energy expenditure available. The use of herbal medicines has become a preferred alternative, supported by the classical consensus on the innocuity of herbal medicine vs synthetic drugs, something that often lacks a scientific basis (ban on Ephedra, for example). The inclusion of functional food in the daily diet has also been promoted although its efficacy requires further investigation. This review summarizes the results of recent work focused on the investigation of edible plant materials targeted at various important pathways related to stimulation of energy expenditure. The aim is to evaluate a number of plants that may be of interest for further studies because of their potential to provide novel lead compounds or functional foods which may be used to combat obesity, but require further studies to evaluate their antiobesity activity in humans.

Toxicity of pyrrolizidine alkaloids to Spodoptera exigua using insect cell lines and injection bioassays.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are feeding deterrents and toxic compounds to generalist herbivores. Among the PAs of Jacobaea vulgaris Gaertn, jacobine and erucifoline are the most effective against insect herbivores as indicated by correlative studies. Because little is known about the effect of jacobine and erucifoline as individual PAs, we isolated these compounds from their respective Jacobaea chemotypes. These PAs and other commercially available senecionine-like PAs, including senecionine, seneciphylline, retrorsine, and senkirkine, were tested as free base and N-oxide forms at a range of 0-70 ppm. Feeding bioassays using live insects are closer to the natural pattern but require relatively large amounts of test compounds. We, therefore, compared the toxicity of PAs using both Spodoptera exigua cell line and larval injection bioassays. Both bioassays led to similar results in the order of PA toxicity, indicating that the cell lines are a valuable tool for a first toxicity screen. Testing individual PAs, jacobine and erucifoline were the most toxic PAs, suggesting their major role in plant defense against generalist herbivores. Senkirkine and seneciphylline were less toxic than jacobine and erucifoline but more toxic than retrorsine. Senecionine was not toxic at the tested concentrations. For all toxic PAs, the free base form was more toxic than the N-oxide form. Our results demonstrate that structural variation of PAs influences their effectiveness in plant defense.

Effect of acute stresses on zebra fish (Danio rerio) metabolome measured by NMR-based metabolomics.

We applied an acute stress model to zebra fish in order to measure the changes in the metabolome due to biological stress. This was done by submitting the fish to fifteen minutes of acute confinement (netting) stress, and then five minutes for the open field and light/dark field tests. A polar extract of the zebra fish was then subjected to (1)H nuclear magnetic spectroscopy. Multivariate data analysis of the spectra showed a clear separation associated to a wide range of metabolites between zebra fish that were submitted to open field and light/dark field tests. Alanine, taurine, adenosine, creatine, lactate, and histidine were high in zebra fish to which the light/dark field test was applied, regardless of stress, while acetate and isoleucine/lipids appeared to be higher in zebra fish exposed to the open field test. These results show that any change in the environment, even for a small period of time, has a noticeable physiological impact. This research provides an insight of how different mechanisms are activated under different environments to maintain the homeostasis of the body. It should also contribute to establish zebra fish as a model for metabolomics studies.

Extraction for metabolomics: access to the metabolome.

INTRODUCTION: The value of information obtained from a metabolomic study depends on how much of the metabolome is present in analysed samples. Thus, only a comprehensive and reproducible extraction method will provide reliable data because the metabolites that will be measured are those that were extracted and all conclusions will be built around this information. OBJECTIVE: To discuss the efficiency and reliability of available sample pre-treatment methods and their application in different fields of metabolomics. METHODS: The review has three sections: the first deals with pre-extraction techniques, the second discusses the choice of extraction solvents and their main features and the third includes a brief description of the most used extraction techniques: microwave-assisted extraction, solid-phase extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, Soxhlet and a new method developed in our laboratory--the comprehensive extraction method. RESULTS: Examination of over 200 studies showed that sample collection, homogenisation, grinding and storage could affect the yield and reproducibility of results. They also revealed that apart from the solvent used for extraction, the extraction techniques have a decisive role on the metabolites available for analysis. CONCLUSION: It is essential to evaluate efficacy and reproducibility of sample pre-treatment as a first step to ensure the reliability of a metabolomic study. Among the reviewed methods, the comprehensive extraction method appears to provide a promising approach for extracting diverse types of metabolites.

Quantitative analysis of amygdalin and prunasin in Prunus serotina Ehrh. using (1) H-NMR spectroscopy.

INTRODUCTION: Prunus serotina is native to North America but has been invasively introduced in Europe since the seventeenth century. This plant contains cyanogenic glycosides that are believed to be related to its success as an invasive plant. For these compounds, chromatographic- or spectrometric-based (targeting on HCN hydrolysis) methods of analysis have been employed so far. However, the conventional methods require tedious preparation steps and a long measuring time. OBJECTIVE: To develop a fast and simple method to quantify the cyanogenic glycosides, amygdalin and prunasin in dried Prunus serotina leaves without any pre-purification steps using (1) H-NMR spectroscopy. METHODS: Extracts of Prunus serotina leaves using CH3 OH-d4 and KH2 PO4 buffer in D2 O (1:1) were quantitatively analysed for amygdalin and prunasin using (1) H-NMR spectroscopy. Different internal standards were evaluated for accuracy and stability. The purity of quantitated (1) H-NMR signals was evaluated using several two-dimensional NMR experiments. RESULTS: Trimethylsilylpropionic acid sodium salt-d4 proved most suitable as the internal standard for quantitative (1) H-NMR analysis. Two-dimensional J-resolved NMR was shown to be a useful tool to confirm the structures and to check for possible signal overlapping with the target signals for the quantitation. Twenty-two samples of P. serotina were subsequently quantitatively analysed for the cyanogenic glycosides prunasin and amygdalin. CONCLUSION: The NMR method offers a fast, high-throughput analysis of cyanogenic glycosides in dried leaves permitting simultaneous quantification and identification of prunasin and amygdalin in Prunus serotina.

Investigation of the chemomarkers correlated with flower colour in different organs of Catharanthus roseus using NMR-based metabolomics.

INTRODUCTION: Flower colour is a complex phenomenon that involves a wide range of secondary metabolites of flowers, for example phenolics and carotenoids as well as co-pigments. Biosynthesis of these metabolites, though, occurs through complicated pathways in many other plant organs. The analysis of the metabolic profile of leaves, stems and roots, for example, therefore may allow the identification of chemomarkers related to the final expression of flower colour. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the metabolic profile of leaves, stems, roots and flowers of Catharanthus roseus and the possible correlation with four flower colours (orange, pink, purple and red). METHODS: (1) H-NMR and multivariate data analysis were used to characterise the metabolites in the organs. RESULTS: The results showed that flower colour is characterised by a special pattern of metabolites such as anthocyanins, flavonoids, organic acids and sugars. The leaves, stems and roots also exhibit differences in their metabolic profiles according to the flower colour. Plants with orange flowers featured a relatively high level of kaempferol analogues in all organs except roots. Red-flowered plants showed a high level of malic acid, fumaric acid and asparagine in both flowers and leaves, and purple and pink flowering plants exhibited high levels of sucrose, glucose and 2,3-dihydroxy benzoic acid. High concentrations of quercetin analogues were detected in flowers and leaves of purple-flowered plants. CONCLUSIONS: There is a correlation between the metabolites specifically associated to the expression of different flower colours and the metabolite profile of other plant organs and it is therefore possible to predict the flower colours by detecting specific metabolites in leaves, stems or roots. This may have interesting application in the plant breeding industry.

Jasmonic acid effect on the fatty acid and terpenoid indole alkaloid accumulation in cell suspension cultures of Catharanthus roseus.

The stress response after jasmonic acid (JA) treatment was studied in cell suspension cultures of Catharanthus roseus. The effect of JA on the primary and secondary metabolism was based on changes in profiles of fatty acids (FA) and terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIA). According to multivariate data analyses (MVDA), three major time events were observed and characterized according to the variations of specific FA and TIA: after 0-30 min of induction FA such as C18:1, C20:0, C22:0 and C24:0 were highly induced by JA; 90-360 min after treatment was characterized by variations of C14:0 and C15:0; and 1440 min after induction JA had the largest effect on both group of metabolites were C18:1, C18:2, C18:3, C16:0, C20:0, C22:0, C24:0, catharanthine, tabersonine-like 1, serpentine, tabersonine and ajmalicine-like had the most significant variations. These results unambiguously demonstrate the profound effect of JA particularly on the accumulation of its own precursor, C18:3 and the accumulation of TIA, which can be considered as late stress response events to JA since they occurred only after 1440 min. These observations show that the early events in the JA response do not involve the de novo biosynthesis of neither its own precursor nor TIA, but is due to an already present biochemical system.