Metabolomic analysis of Echinacea spp. by (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry and multivariate data analysis technique.

Introduction - The genus Echinacea (Asteraceae) comprises about 10 species originally distributed in North America. Three species are very well known as they are used worldwide as medicinal plants: Echinacea purpurea, E. pallida, E. angustifolia.Objective - To discriminate between these three Echinacea species and E. simulata by (1)H NMR-based metabolomics.Methodology - (1)H NMR and multivariate analysis techniques were applied to diverse Echinacea plants including roots and aerial parts, authentic plants, commercial plants and commercial dry extracts.Results - Using the (1)H NMR metabolomics, it was possible, without previous evaporation or separation steps, to obtain a metabolic fingerprint to distinguish between species.Conclusion - A clear distinction between the three pharmaceutical species was possible and some useful metabolites were identified. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.