Metabolic profiling of Chimonanthus grammatus via UHPLC-HRMS-MS with computer-assisted structure elucidation and its antimicrobial activity

Chimonanthus grammatus is used as Hakka traditional herb to treat cold, flu, etc. So far, the phytochemistry and antimicrobial compounds have not been well investigated. In this study, the orbitrap-ion trap MS was used to characterize its metabolites, combined with a computer-assisted structure elucidation method, and the antimicrobial activities were assessed by a broth dilution method against 21 human pathogens, as well as the bioassay-guided purification work to clarify its main antimicrobial compounds. A total of 83 compounds were identified with their fragmentation patterns, including terpenoids, coumarins, flavonoids, organic acids, alkaloids, and others. The plant extracts can strongly inhibit the growth of three Gram-positive and four Gram-negative bacteria, and nine active compounds were bioassay-guided isolated, including homalomenol C, jasmonic acid, isofraxidin, quercitrin, stigmasta-7,22-diene-3β,5α,6α-triol, quercetin, 4-hydroxy-1,10-secocadin-5-ene-1,10-dione, kaempferol, and E-4-(4,8-dimethylnona-3,7-dienyl)furan-2(5H)-one. Among them, isofraxidin, kaempferol, and quercitrin showed significant activity against planktonic Staphylococcus aureus (IC50 = 13.51, 18.08 and 15.86 µg/ml). Moreover, their antibiofilm activities of S. aureus (BIC50 = 15.43, 17.31, 18.86 µg/ml; BEC50 = 45.86, ≥62.50, and 57.62 µg/ml) are higher than ciprofloxacin. The results demonstrated that the isolated antimicrobial compounds played the key role of this herb in combating microbes and provided benefits for its development and quality control, and the computer-assisted structure elucidation method was a powerful tool for chemical analysis, especially for distinguishing isomers with similar structures, which can be used for other complex samples. Graphical Abstract