Metabolomic and chemometric profiles of Tribulus terrestris L. from three different locations in Mpumalanga province, South Africa

Abstract

Background: Tribulus terrestris L. is a traditional herb regularly recognised as puncture vine, yellow vine, devils horn, goat head and caltrop, this is often a yearly shaggy herbaceous plant species with stems of up to 2m long, having a place to the family of Zygophyllaceae. Aim: The study explored the therapeutic potential of this herb as it is being utilised for pharmaceutical purposes because of its furostanol saponins, which have a stimulating impact on characteristic testosterone levels. Setting: The study took place in different locations of Mpumalanga Province, Bushbuckridge (24.8398°S, 31.0464°E), Kamagugu (25.4566° S, 31.0034° E) and Nkomatipoort (25.4510° S, 31.9587° E). Methods: Utilising ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF/MS), 50 metabolites were tentatively identified within the leaves of Tribulus terrestris L. from three diverse areas of Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Results: Metabolomic-chemometric analysis revealed that Parvispinoside B, F-Gitonin and Gitonin scored highest for the discrimination of Tribulus terrestris L. from three locale clusters. Heat maps showed designs and groupings based on the metabolite concentrations. Conclusion: This study provided novel insights in terms of thorough identification of the secondary metabolites and characterization of the leaves of Tribulus terrestris L. in the areas studied. Contribution: To the best of our knowledge, this study presents the first metabolite profile of Tribulus terrestris L. and its compositional differences in the Mpumalanga region, providing chemical-based evidence for its nutritive and/or health benefits.