Alkaloid profiling of Italian alpine herbs using high resolution mass spectrometry (Orbitrap-MS)

Alpine pastures have not yet been extensively studied with regard to the presence of alkaloids in herbaceous plants. In this work the alkaloid profiles were characterised from a selection of 62 herbs collected from alpine pastures in north-eastern Italy. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a hybrid quadrupole orbitrap mass spectrometer was used to evaluate the presence of 41 different alkaloids and quantify them using a targeted approach. Provisionally, 118 alkaloids were identified, including both free and glycosylated forms, making use of a homemade database and a suspect screening approach. rucifoline, gramine, heliotrine, lycopsamine, seneciphylline, and veratramine were quantified with concentrations ranging from 6 to about 100 mg kg-1 in 6 plants. Herbaceous plants belonging to the most well-represented plant families (Poaceae, 9 species; Asteraceae, 7; Lamiaceae, 6) showed distinct and characteristic alkaloid profiles and were correctly reclassified with an average accuracy of 85% (Partial Least Squares – Discriminant Analysis).