{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,10]],"date-time":"2026-10-10T12:54:51Z","timestamp":1791636891466,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,28]],"date-time":"2026-03-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774656000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001321","name":"National Research Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["86923"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["86923"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001321","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["86923"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["86923"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01xpa3123","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001322","name":"South African Medical Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["23015"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["23015"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001322","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["23015"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["23015"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05q60vz69","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100007782","name":"Tshwane University of Technology","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100007782","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/037mrss42","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Plants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The genus Oncosiphon (Asteraceae), consisting of aromatic herbs, is indigenous to southern Africa. Oncosiphon species have been documented in Khoi-San ethnobotany as herbal remedies for typhoid fever, pneumonia, and as diuretics. Research on the biological properties and comprehensive phytochemical profiling of these important Oncosiphon species is currently limited. This study was therefore undertaken to address the knowledge void in chemical profiling, through the application of various analytical techniques to analyse the volatile and non-volatile constituents of three South African Oncosiphon species. The aerial parts of Oncosiphon suffruticosus (n = 28), O. grandiflorus (n = 16), and O. africanus (n = 4) were collected from various locations in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The stems and leaves (SL) were separated from the flowers (F) and analysed as distinct samples. The methanol: chloroform (1:1, v\/v) extracts were prepared and analysed using ultra\u2013high\u2013performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight time\u2013of\u2013flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC\u2013QToF\u2013MS) and a semi\u2013automated high\u2013performance thin\u2013layer chromatography (HPTLC) system. Multivariate data analysis was performed on the UHPLC\u2013QToF\u2013MS data to determine interspecies chemical variation. Two-dimensional (2D) gas chromatography (GCxGC\u2013ToF\u2013MS) was used to determine the headspace volatile profiles of the intact aerial parts. The results show that the non-volatile profiles of the Oncosiphon species are characterised by amino acids, phenolic acids, flavonoids, sesquiterpene lactones, and fatty acid derivatives. The HPTLC profiles of O. grandiflorus and O. africanus are chemically more closely related, and O. suffruticosus has a distinct profile, which is supported by the chemometrics results of the flowers. The major headspace volatile compounds in Oncosiphon flowers are \u03b1-pinene, \u03b1-ocimene, eucalyptol, o-cymene, and artemisia alcohol, whereas the stems and leaves mainly consist of \u03b1-ocimene, eucalyptol, and yomogi alcohol.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/plants15071047","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,30]],"date-time":"2026-03-30T09:57:11Z","timestamp":1774864631000},"page":"1047","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Comprehensive Phytochemical Profiling and Chemotypic Variation Study of Three Medicinally Important Oncosiphon Species Indigenous to South Africa"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Tshwarelo R.","family":"Mathabatha","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maxleene","family":"Sandasi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa"},{"name":"SAMRC Herbal Drugs Research Unit, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria 0001, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Guy P. P.","family":"Kamatou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Weiyang","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa"},{"name":"SAMRC Herbal Drugs Research Unit, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria 0001, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Efficient","family":"Ncube","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa"},{"name":"SAMRC Herbal Drugs Research Unit, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria 0001, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8656-9526","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bharathi","family":"Avula","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8787-4602","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kumar","family":"Katragunta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5464-4643","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ikhlas A.","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA"},{"name":"Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of BioMolecular Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6810-2981","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alvaro M.","family":"Viljoen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa"},{"name":"SAMRC Herbal Drugs Research Unit, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria 0001, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"124","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jep.2005.05.013","article-title":"The future of ethnopharmacology: A southern African perspective","volume":"100","author":"Mulholland","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. 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