Integrative metabolomic and nanoformulation-based evaluation of Valeriana jatamansi jones: Organ-specific chemogeographical diversity and antioxidant potential

Valeriana jatamansi (Valerian, Mushkbala) is a high value medicinal plant of Himalayan region especially India, China, Nepal and Pakistan. V. jatamansi is utilized for health benefits from many centuries and documented majorly in Indian, and Chinese System of Medicine. Continuous research on the development, adaptation, & quality concerns directed us to investigate comprehensive chemistry of V. jatamansi (roots, stems, flowers and leaves,) collected from six locations of Indian western Himalayas. For volatile chemistry, HS-GC/MS and GC-MS of extracts were used. GC-MS analysis identified 99 different volatile metabolites which represented around 75.2-92.3% of the total samples. The samples majorly contain monoterpenes (56.5-95.0%), oxygenated monoterpenes (0.6-17.6%), sesquiterpenes (0.8-8.0%) and oxygenated (0.2-13.4%) sesquiterpene hydrocarbons with α -pinene (5.6-42.9%) and sabinene as the major component. In non-volatile profiling, targeted amino acids and polyphenols were profiled through UPLC-PDA method. Rutin was quantified predominant polyphenol, while histidine was the most abundant amino acid among all the parts. Whereas, for the simultaneous profiling of major non-volatile marker molecules (valepotriates; hydroxyl valerenic acid, acetoxyvalerenic acid, acevaltrate, didrovaltrate, valerenic acid, valtrate), a reproducible, stable UPLC-PDA method was developed and validated as per ICH guidelines. The validated method revealed the presence of valepotriate that includes valtrate as most abundant valepotriate, followed by didrovaltrate and acevaltrate among the different samples of V. jatamansi . Further, development of V. jatamansi extract-loaded nanosponges demonstrates the potential of nanotechnology in enhancing the stability and delivery of plant-based therapeutics. Current research revealed organ specific chemogeographical variation qualitative and quantitative variations of V. jatamansi samples. These findings highlighted the potential of V. jatamansi and suggested the direction towards the conservation strategies for quality produce of future benefits.