Metabolomic Characterization of 16 Malpighiaceae Species From Brazilian Biomes by UHPLC-MS/MS and PCA.

The Malpighiaceae family comprises approximately 1,500 species distributed across tropical and subtropical regions and is recognized as a source of bioactive secondary metabolites. However, the metabolomic composition of many species remains poorly characterized. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize and compare the metabolomic profiles of 16 Malpighiaceae species collected from four Brazilian biomes (Amazon Rainforest, Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, and Cerrado). Hydroethanolic leaf extracts were analyzed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) and chemometric tools. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to investigate metabolomic similarities and differences among species. Fifty metabolites were annotated, mainly flavonoids, anthocyanins, tannins, and phenolic acids, demonstrating the remarkable chemodiversity of the family. Multivariate analysis identified discriminant metabolites, including hexadecanoyl glycerol, quercetin-O-glycoside, epigallocatechin, hydroxyflavanone, isorhamnetin galactoside, ferulic acid, and quercetin-3-O-deoxyhexosyl-pentoside. The results revealed substantial metabolomic variability among species occurring within the same biome and highlighted the phytochemical diversity of Malpighiaceae.