Untargeted metabolite profiling of syrup rose ecotypes cultivated in the Alta Valle Scrivia (Liguria, Italy)

“Valle Scrivia rose syrup” (VSrs) is an ancient Italian recipe, used both as a drink and to relieve coughs and bronchitis [1], produced by infusing rose petals from ancient plants cultivated in Ligu- ria, and awarded as Slow Food Presidium. Three rose ecotypes are mainly used, locally known as “muscosa”, a mutation of R. centifolia, a presumed hybrid between a R. gallica and R. damascena, “rugosa”, attributed to the group derived from R. rugosa, and “damask” (R. x damascena). Aim of the project was the chemical profiling of these ecotypes, collected from different farms of the valley, through LC-MS and NMR metabolomic based approach to contribute to the characterization of these ecotypes and to the valorization of local products. The 1H NMR profiling revealed the presence of amino acids, such as arginine and asparagine, organic acids as quinic acid. Among sugars, detect- able in the middle part of the 1H NMR spectrum, glucose was the most abundant. Several aromatic protons, belonging to phenolic compounds, were also detected. LC-HRESIMS/MS analysis led to the annotation of several flavonoids, especially quercetin and kaempferol derivatives, and anthocy- anins, such as cyanidin, pelargonidin, and delphinidin hexosides. Moreover, among gallotannins, tri-O-galloylhexose, tetra-O-galloylhexose and penta-O-galloylhexose were identified [2]. Data from NMR and LC-MS analysis were subjected to multivariate analysis (PCA, HC, SOM). Results showed two clusters, one made up of all “muscosa” and “rugosa” samples, mainly characterized by querce- tin O-hexoside-dehydroxyhexoside and delphinidin O-hexoside, and one of all “damask” samples, mainly characterized by cyanidin O-hexoside.