Work

LC-HRMS/MS-based qualitative secondary metabolites profiling of Leptadenia arborea and evaluation of its antioxidant and hemostatic activities

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Introduction Leptadenia arborea is an indigenous climbing plant whose phytochemical composition and biological properties remain poorly investigated. However, in regions of the Sahel and the Arabian Peninsula, L. arborea leaves, shoots, and young fruits are widely consumed as a highly nutritious green vegetable, spice, and soup ingredient. In addition, the leaves of L. arborea are highly valued for their dense nutritional content such as sugars, proteins, and amino acids, with remarkable levels of lysine, leucine, phenylalanine, and valine. For example, its leaves contain up to 18% protein by dry weight. They are also extremely rich in iron, calcium, potassium, and vitamin C. Methods The present study employed a metabolomic approach based on LC-ESI/LTQOrbitrap-MS/MS to characterize the chemical composition of stalks and leaves extracts of L. arborea . The antioxidant activity, and antiplatelet effects of methanolic extracts from leaves (LaL) and stalks (LaS), together with three leaf-derived fractions [40% (LaLA), 60% (LaLB), and 80% (LaLC)] were also evaluated using various methods. Results LC-ESI/LTQ-Orbitrap/MS/MS analysis enabled the tentative identification of fourteen metabolites, including flavonoids, a phenolic derivative, fatty acids, oxygenated fatty acids, and a diterpene glycoside. Five major flavonoids were isolated and unequivocally characterized by one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy as apigenin-6,8-di-C-glucopyranoside ( 1 ), luteolin-7- O -β-glucopyranoside ( 4 ), apigenin-7- O -β-glucopyranoside ( 6 ), luteolin ( 9 ), and apigenin ( 12 ), confirming the LC-HRMS-based annotations. Antioxidant activity was assessed using an in vitro model of H 2 O 2 /Fe 2+ -induced oxidative stress in plasma and blood platelets. Among the tested samples, the 80% leaf fraction exhibited the strongest antioxidant activity, significantly reducing lipid peroxidation, protein carbonylation, and thiol oxidation in both plasma and blood platelets. Evaluation of thrombus formation using the Total Thrombus-formation Analysis System (T-TAS) showed that only the 40% fraction from the leaves at the two highest concentrations (5 and 50 μg/mL) significantly modulated blood platelet thrombus formation in human whole blood. Conclusion These findings demonstrate that L. arborea is a rich source of bioactive flavonoids and other specialized metabolites with promising antioxidant properties, supporting its potential as a nutraceutical resource and providing a basis for future in vivo studies.

Source: Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences

DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2026.1951196