Metabolomics-Guided Profiling of Guadua incana Londoño Reveals Bioactive Phytocompounds Associated with Reduced HCT-116 Cell Viability

Bamboo species have been widely used in traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases. Guadua incana Londoño is recognized for its richness in phenolic compounds, particularly flavonoids and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives. However, the chemical diversity and biological relevance of its metabolome remain largely unexplored. This study employed an untargeted metabolomics approach integrated with Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking (GNPS2) to characterize the chemical space of G. incana leaf extracts, guide the targeted isolation of bioactive metabolites, and assess their effects on HCT-116 cell viability using the MTT assay. Leaf extracts were prepared using 96% ethanol and analyzed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS). Metabolite annotation and chemical space exploration were performed through molecular networking analysis using GNPS2. Metabolomics-guided fractionation enabled the targeted isolation of major constituents by centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC), followed by purification using Sephadex LH-20. Structural characterization led to the identification of isoschaftoside (1) and a flavonoid-rich mixture (M1) containing orientin (2), flavone base + 3O, 1MeO, C-Hex (3), violanthin (4), vitexin (5), swertisin (6), and flavone base + 3O, 1MeO, O-dHex (7). Compound 1 reduced HCT-116 cell viability, exhibiting an IC₅₀ value of 13.26 µM after 72 h of exposure, while M1 decreased cell viability by 94.35% at 50 µg/mL. Integrative metabolomic and biological analyses indicated that these flavonoids are associated with the observed reduction in cell viability. This study provides the first metabolomics-guided characterization of flavonoid glycosides from G. incana and demonstrates the value of combining untargeted metabolomics, molecular networking, and bioactivity assessment for the discovery of bioactive natural products. These findings highlight this bamboo species as a promising source of phytochemicals with potential pharmacological and biotechnological applications.