Exploration of chemical interactions between Viscum combreticola Engl. and its hosts through a metabolic profiling approach and molecular networking

Viscum combreticola Engl., an evergreen semi-parasitic mistletoe plant, is utilized in herbal medicines. Herein, a UHPLC-q-TOF-MS profiling and molecular networking approach were used to investigate the chemical interactions between V. combreticola and two of its host plants, Combretum erythrophyllum and Pseudolachnostylis maprouneifolia Pax. Moreover, in vitro grown V. combreticola seedlings were used to explore the host independence of the phytochemistry of these plants. The phytochemistry of V. combreticola was found to be independent and distinct from that of the host plants. Moreover, both mature V. combreticola and in vitro seedlings displayed diverse polyphenolic compounds but exhibited distinct metabolic profiles. Notably, the esterification of phenolic acids (hydroxycinnamic and benzoic acids) to quinic acid was a unique chemistry that was observed in both mature and in vitro grown V. combreticola. Beyond providing metabolic fingerprints of the studied samples, the UHPLC-q-TOF-MS and molecular networking effectively visualized plant-plant chemical relationships at a metabolite level.