Comparative metabolome and metallomic analyses of three organs from Cistus creticus

There is a noted variation in metabolomic and metallomic content between the different organs of Cistus creticus, which might inform future research and nutritional or medicinal use of the plant. Cistus creticus L. (Cistaceae), known by the common name rock rose, is a garden flower and an emerging medicinal plant. C. creticus extracts have analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant effects, and potent antimicrobial power. Extracts or essential oil from Cistus promote reduction in triglyceride levels, repress diabetes biomarkers and promote reduction of UV-B damage. All this collectively indicates possible beneficial effects for treatments of infections, diabetes, and skin aging. While several studies reported a number of metabolites in C. creticus, there is no comprehensive metabolome and elemental analyses of its different organs. We performed GC-MS, UHPLC-MS and ICP-MS analyses of flowers, leaves, and stems of C. creticus and report known, as well as new, metabolites in the three different organs, as well as essential elements. Leaves were richest in primary metabolites such as essential amino acids, sugars, and organic acids, with some exceptions. They were also richest in myricitrin, myricetin-3-O-glucoside, and myricetin-3-O-pentoside, which have potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic activities, as well as azelaic acid, quinic acid, kaempferol and its derivatives, and other secondary metabolites. Stems were richest in asterbatanoside. Other secondary metabolites, such as cistusin, chlorogenic acid, nicotinic acid, and punicalin, were most abundant in the flowers. We have identified metabolites with different beneficial activities in C. creticus and demonstrated that their levels greatly vary depending on the type of organ they are present in. These findings indicate that organ-specific enrichment of bioactive metabolites could inform targeted therapeutic development for diabetes, infections, and inflammatory disorders.