UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS Profiling of Resin Glycosides and Their Lipase Inhibitory Activity in Leaves of Selected Sweet Potato (Ipomoea Batatas L.) Cultivars

Why It Matters

The results enable targeted selection of sweet‑potato cultivars and growing practices to produce natural lipase inhibitors, opening a pathway for agriceutical anti‑obesity products from agricultural waste.

Key Takeaways

• Xushu 32 and Blackheart show strongest pancreatic lipase inhibition
• 128 resin glycosides identified across nine sweet potato leaf cultivars
• Four pentasaccharide RGs linked to lipase inhibition activity
• Hydroponic growth boosts inhibitory RGs compared to soil cultivation
• Multivariate analysis reveals genotype and environment shape RG profiles

Pulse Analysis

The aerial parts of sweet potato have long been dismissed as low‑value waste, yet they harbor resin glycosides—complex glycolipids with a track record of antimicrobial, anti‑inflammatory, and metabolic effects. Recent interest centers on their ability to curb pancreatic lipase, a key enzyme in dietary fat absorption, positioning them as natural anti‑obesity agents. Traditional isolation relies on labor‑intensive NMR, which struggles with the structural diversity of these molecules. High‑resolution metabolomics, particularly UHPLC‑Q‑TOF‑MS/MS, now offers the sensitivity and accuracy required to map this chemical landscape at scale, accelerating discovery of structure‑activity relationships essential for drug‑like optimization.

In a recent comparative study, extracts from nine sweet‑potato leaf cultivars were profiled using UHPLC‑Q‑TOF‑MS/MS, revealing 128 tentatively identified resin glycosides spanning trisaccharides to pentasaccharides. Multivariate techniques such as PCA, PLS‑DA and OPLS‑DA distinguished three chemotypic clusters and pinpointed four pentasaccharide markers—characterized by 2‑methylbutyric and dodecanoic acid side chains—as the primary drivers of pancreatic lipase inhibition. Notably, the Xushu 32 and Blackheart varieties delivered the highest Orlistat‑equivalent activity, while hydroponically grown Beniazuma samples exhibited enhanced inhibitory profiles relative to their soil‑grown counterparts. The kinetic analysis confirmed competitive inhibition, with IC₅₀ values in the low‑micromolar range for the lead compounds.

These insights lay a practical foundation for precision agriceutical pipelines, where cultivar selection and cultivation practices can be tuned to maximize bioactive resin glycoside yields. By integrating the emerging RG database with breeding programs, producers can develop functional‑food ingredients that deliver clinically relevant lipase inhibition without synthetic drugs. Future work should expand profiling to the estimated two thousand sweet‑potato varieties, validate marker compounds in vivo, and address regulatory pathways for market entry, thereby turning agricultural by‑products into scalable health‑promoting solutions. Economic assessments suggest that valorizing leaf waste could improve farm profitability while reducing environmental impact.