Comprehensive Phytochemical Profiling of Malaysian Piper sarmentosum Leaves using Mass-Based Dereplication and Molecular Networking

Abstract

A comprehensive phytochemical analysis of the methanolic extract of Malaysian Piper sarmentosum was carried out utilizing a mass-based dereplication strategy coupled with a molecular networking approach. The dereplication analysis using SIRIUS software in conjunction with the GNPS platform yielded 62 compounds in the extract, including 30 amide alkaloids, 7 phenylpropanoids, 6 lignans, 6 monoacylglycerols, 9 flavonoids, 2 coumarins, 1 terpene and 1 benzofuran. The LCMS phytochemical profile was verified using seven isolated compounds, namely γ-asarone 1, trans-asarone 2, cepharanone B 3, sarmentosine 4, N-[3-(4methoxyphenyl)propanoyl]pyrrole 5, N-(3-phenylpropanoyl)pyrrole 6, and andamanicin 7. Pyrrole alkaloids 5 and 6 are reported for the first time as constituents of the Malaysian species. These were selected as marker compounds for quantification analysis. The plant extract contained 13.30 µg/mg of 5 and 66.80 µg/mg of 6 through a validated HPLC assay.