Metabotyping of Prunus sargentii, Prunus nipponica var. kurilensis, and Prunus maximowiczii from Peter the Great Botanical Garden of BIN RAS

Species of the genus Prunus, including Prunus nipponica var. kurilensis, Prunus sargentii, and Prunus maximowiczii, are widely distributed in the Far Eastern region, covering the territories of Northern China, Korea, Japan, the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin Island, and Primorsky Region in Russia. As part of this study, the flowers of nine specimens of the aforementioned species were collected from the Peter the Great Botanical Garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), which was founded in 1714 and is one of the oldest botanical gardens in Russia. This study is the first comprehensive metabolomic analysis of cherry blossoms from East Asia, with a particular focus on the varieties P. nipponica var. kurilensis, P. sargentii and P. maximowiczii. The main objective of the work was to identify and characterize biologically active polyphenolic substances and other chemotypes in the studied plant samples. Metabolomic analysis of flower extracts from three species of Prunus: P. nipponica var. kurilensis, P. sargentii, and P. maximowiczii revealed the presence of one hundred and eight polyphenol compounds and fourteen compounds belonging to other chemical groups. Principal component analysis showed that PC1 (26.6%) and PC2 (19.0%) explain 45.6% of the total variance. A clear separation of P. maximowiczii was observed, while P. nipponica from all regions was represented by a single species, and P. sargentii showed variability. Samples from Sakhalin were grouped separately. These results suggest that species identity and origin may influence the metabolic differentiation of the plant material studied. The observed separation of P. maximowiczii from other species may be due to both species-specific metabolism and adaptation to the environmental conditions in Sakhalin. A heatmap with hierarchical clustering revealed a clear clustering of samples based on their origin and species. Samples of P. sargentii from different sources were grouped together, indicating a similar metabolic profile. Samples of P. nipponica var. kurilensis formed a separate cluster with characteristic features of compound distribution. Samples of P. maximowiczii from Sakhalin also formed a separate cluster that was not related to the other two species. This supports the hypothesis that the subspecies that grow in the northern regions have a greater metabolic diversity. It is suggested that this richness of polyphenols is due to the harsh climatic conditions and the accompanying stress factors. The flowers of P. nipponica var. kurilensis, P. sargentii, and P. maximowiczii are characterized by a high content of biologically active compounds, which makes them promising objects for the creation of biologically active supplements and the development of new therapeutic agents in the pharmaceutical industry.