Resumen:
Urospatha sagittifolia is a medicinal plant with antivenom, antihemorrhagic and anti-inflammatory
properties commonly used by vulnerable Amazon indigenous communities to tackle venomous
snakebites and their life-threatening consequences. Despite its pharmacological potential as a rich
source of drug candidates, its metabolomic profile remains unknown. In this context, this study
integrated mass spectrometry-based metabolomics, multivariate analysis, and molecular networks to
uncover the chemical composition of U. sagittifolia and its dynamic metabolic changes during three
plant growth stages (seedling, juvenile and adult). In general, 50 metabolites were identified in U.
sagittifolia tubers by LC-MS (43 metabolites) and GC-MS (seven metabolites). Multivariate analysis
using LC-MS showed that the relative concentrations of most of the identified metabolites were
higher in seedlings or juveniles than in adults. On the other hand, GC-MS analysis showed that methyl
palmitate and methyl stearate were the most abundant in the early growth stages, whereas allantoic
acid and palmitic acid prevailed as the plant matured. In summary, this is the first metabolomicscentered mining of U. sagittifolia compositional diversity focusing on chemical-level variability.
These valuable findings offer a temporal view of metabolic changes during plant growth stages, which
is useful for future bioprospecting, biological screening, and purification of metabolite-based
therapeutics.
