Metabolomics and marker-based stability studies of methanol extract of seeds of Syzygium cumini L

Abstract

Though, herbal medicines are prone to deterioration upon storage due to their complex nature, but less attention has been paid to investigating stability of such products to assign shelf-life. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the accelerated stability of methanolic extract of seeds of Syzygium cumini. The extract was kept at three different storage conditions (30oC/60% RH, 40oC/75% RH and 60oC/85% RH) for a period of 6 months. The samples withdrawn at 0 (before starting the study), 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 months were analyzed to get UV-Visible metabolomics fingerprints and determine caffeic acid contents using RP-HPLC. The comparison of metabolomics fingerprints indicated that the extract was stable for 1 month at all the three storage conditions. However, caffeic acid contents were found to be intact for a longer period of time. Following the zero order degradation, caffeic acid was predicted to be stable for more than 3 years, if kept at 25oC. The results of the present study indicate that metabolomes of methanol extract of seeds of Syzygium cumini change very fast, suggesting the development of stable formulations.