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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Food Science Technology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1518525
This article is part of the Research Topic Storage, Preservation, and Nutritional Quality Analysis of Root and Tuber Crops View all articles

Screening potential antileukemia ingredients from sweet potato: Integration of metabolomics analysis, network pharmacology, and experimental validation

Provisionally accepted
Lianling Xu Lianling Xu 1Kaixuan Zeng Kaixuan Zeng 1Zuoyue Duan Zuoyue Duan 1Jing Liu Jing Liu 1Yan Zeng Yan Zeng 1Miao Zhang Miao Zhang 1You Yang You Yang 1Qulian Guo Qulian Guo 1Yanling Jin Yanling Jin 2*Wenjun Liu Wenjun Liu 1*Ling Guo Ling Guo 1*
  • 1 The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
  • 2 Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Active dietary flavonoids are a promising resource for novel drug discovery. Sweet potato, a widely cultivated functional crop, is abundant in flavonoids.However, the active ingredients associated with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treatment and their underlying mechanisms have not been reported to date.Objective: This study aims to identify novel drugs against AML from sweet potato by integrating metabolomics analysis, network pharmacology, and experimental validation.Methods: Firstly, ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was employed to analyze the major constituents in sweet potato. Then, nine active ingredients were selected for validation of their anti-leukemia effects.Subsequently, three of them underwent network pharmacology analyses and in vitro experimental verification. Finally, the anti-leukemia effect of Cynaroside was further confirmed through in vivo experimental validation.Results: Firstly, the flavonoid content of stem, leaves, flesh, and peel from 13 sweet potato cultivars was examined. The leaves of Nanshu 017 exhibited the highest flavonoid content of 2.27% dry weight (DW). Then, an extract derived from these leaves was employed for in vitro experiments, demonstrating significant inhibition of AML cell growth. Subsequently, based on the results of metabolomics analysis and network pharmacology, Cynaroside, Nepitrin, and Yuanhuanin were identified as potential antileukemia agents present in sweet potato for the first time; while CASP3, KDR, EGFR, and SRC were recognized as pivotal targets of these three monomers against AML. Finally, the antileukemia effects of Cynaroside, Nepitrin, and Yuanhuanin were confirmed through in vitro and in vivo experimental validation.In summary, sweet potato leaves extract possesses an antileukemic effect while Cynaroside, Nepitrin, and Yuanhuanin demonstrate potential as treatments for AML.

    Keywords: Sweet potato, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, metabolomics analysis, Network Pharmacology, Dietary flavonoids, Antileukemia effect

    Received: 28 Oct 2024; Accepted: 14 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Xu, Zeng, Duan, Liu, Zeng, Zhang, Yang, Guo, Jin, Liu and Guo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Yanling Jin, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan Province, China
    Wenjun Liu, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
    Ling Guo, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China

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