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Dereplication of Ampelozizyphus amazonicus extracts using QuEChERS method as sample preparation

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Preparations of Ampelozizyphus amazonicus (AA) are known for their high content of saponins, especially those of dammarane-type triterpenoid aglycone1,2. It is believed that this class of metabolites is responsible for the pharmacological activities attributed to this species. In the Amazon region, roots and barks are widely used in the treatment and prevention of malaria, and the wood is discarded in the preparation of the drink by quilombolas3. It is intended to perform the dereplication of aqueous and ethanol extracts of the bark and the wood, focusing on saponins, using LC-MS/MS and QuEChERS4 method (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, Safe) as preparation of the sample, in order to verify the possibility of using the wood as raw material. All the extracts were prepared in the concentration of 1% (w/v) being: aqueous extract of the bark (AB), aqueous extract of the wood (AW), ethanol extract of the bark (EB) and ethanol extract of the wood (EW). For LC-MS/MS analysis, the extracts were treated based on the QuEChERS method. A Phenomenex PFP column (3.0 x 150 mm) was used at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min-1 and the mobile fase was water (A), containing 0,1%NH4OH, and MeOH (B) using gradient elution program. The mass spectrometer (LCQ Feet, ThermoFisher Scientific), equipped with Electrospray source (ESI), was operated in negative ion mode. The Total Ion Chromatograms (TIC) show a complex saponin profile with deprotonated molecular ions [M-H]− in the range of m/z 800–1000. Analysis of the product ion mass spectra of [M-H]− ions implied that the compounds belong to the class of dammarane-type triterpenoid saponins. Typical masses of jujubogenin glycosides were found in the extracts as: m/z 911, 927, 897 and 1041, as well as keto-dammarane type triterpene saponins and saponins with C31 skeleton as: 929, 959, 943 and 915. The results confirm the use of QuEChERS as an analytical tool used to reduce the initial complexity of crude extracts, allowing greater visualization of the substances of interest. They also show the identification of several saponins already described for the AA bark also present in the wood, a strong indication of the power of this plant part also as raw material. The MS2 studies are still being done with the aim of confirming the structures based on the fragmentation patterns already described in the literature for these AA saponins.