Differences in Metabolites of White and Naturally Colored Cotton: Implications for Biofunctional and Aseptic Textiles

ABSTRACT

The study was targeted at naturally colored cotton: white, white with a shade of ash gray, white with a creamy shade, and brown with a shade of marmoreal pink, collected from eighteen lines and cultivars. Metabolites were analyzed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. 83 metabolites were studied in cotton fiber. Brown fiber samples differed from white, ash-gray, and creamy ones in the sum of lactic + β-hydroxypropionic acids (>11.0 ppm), concentrations of phosphoric acid (>57.0 ppm) and asparagine (>3.3 ppm), contents of oligo- and monosaccharides, with the maximum for glucose (130.0 ppm), but brown had minimum levels of linolenic acid (>10.0 ppm) and diacylglycerol (>0.1 ppm). Meanwhile, pipecolic acid content was higher in white samples (>2.1 ppm). Brown samples had high contents of glycerol (20.0 ppm), β-sitosterol (>17.0 ppm), and the highest content of phenol-containing compounds (>12.2 ppm), including hydroxybenzoic and salicylic acid (8.0 ppm of each), but erythritol was higher in white samples (2.5 ppm). Properties of bioactive metabolites suggested therapeutic, delicate aseptic, repellent, UV protective, and metal toxicity reducing effects of the studied fibers, and their resistance to biodestruction by pecto- and cellulolytic bacteria and mold fungi, which would make biofunctional textile more comfortable, and hygienic.

摘要

这项研究是针对自然彩色棉花:白色，白色与灰灰色的阴影，白色与奶油色阴影，棕色与红色的阴影，收集了18个品系和品种. 代谢物用气相色谱-质谱联用分析. 对棉纤维中83种代谢产物进行了研究. 棕色纤维样品在乳酸 + β-羟基丙酸 (> 11.0 ppm)、磷酸 (> 57.0 ppm) 和天冬酰胺 (> 3.3 ppm) 的总和、寡核苷酸的含量方面与白色、灰灰色和奶油色样品不同- 和单糖，葡萄糖含量最高 (130.0 ppm)，但棕色的亚麻酸 (>10.0 ppm) 和甘油二酯 (>0.1 ppm) 含量最低. 同时，白色样品中胡椒酸含量较高（>2.1ppm）. 棕色样品的甘油 (20.0 ppm)、β-谷甾醇 (>17.0 ppm) 含量高，含酚化合物的含量最高 (>12.2 ppm)，包括羟基苯甲酸和水杨酸（各 8.0 ppm），但赤藓糖醇在白色样品中更高（2.5 ppm）. 生物活性代谢物的性质表明，所研究的纤维具有治疗性、精细的无菌性、驱避性、防紫外线性和降低金属毒性的作用，并能抵抗果胶和纤维素分解细菌及霉菌的破坏，使生物功能纺织品更舒适、卫生.

Keywords:

• 关键词
• 多毛植物
• 巴巴多斯
• 草本植物
• 壬二酸
• 胡椒酸
• 赤藓糖醇
• 多元醇
• β-谷甾醇
• 羟基苯甲酸
• 水杨酸

KEYWORDS:

• G. hirsutum
• g. barbadense
• g. herbaceum
• azelaic acid
• pipecolic acid
• erythritol
• polyols
• β-sitosterol
• hydroxybenzoic acid
• salicylic acid

Acknowledgments

Biochemical analysis of fiber samples in the paper has been performed within the framework of the State Assignment No 0662–2019–0001 (oil and fibre crop: evaluation and enlarge of genotypic variability), AAA–A19–119013090159–5 commissioned to VIR.

Research highlights

The study was targeted at naturally colored cotton. The novelty and uniqueness of the research is that fiber metabolites of three main botanical cotton species were studied.

Brown (with a marmoreal pink shade) cotton fiber significantly differed from pure white one in the content of organic acids (lactic, hydroxypropionic, azelaic and phosphoric), free amino acids (asparagine, serine, and pipecolic acid), polyols (glycerol and erythritol), β-sitosterol, phenolic compounds, and total amounts of oligo- and monosaccharides.

The creamy-shaded white fiber had the highest content of azelaic acid and serine, but the lowest of polyols (glycerol and erythritol).

The white fiber with an ash gray shade demonstrated the least amounts of β-sitosterol, and the total oligo- and monosaccharides.

Based on the literature data on the biological properties of metabolites, it is assumed that fiber may have a number of biofunctional properties. In our opinion, the bioactive metabolites identified in naturally colored cotton fibers of different hues may be used to produce biofunctional textiles of versatile uses.

We suppose that the use of bioactive metabolites contained in cotton fiber may become the focus of the crop’s improvement through breeding, which is promising for biofunctional goods production, as it would improve consumer-oriented textile qualities, enhance hygienic and therapeutic properties.