Herbarium voucher specimens are used primarily for taxonomic confirmation. However, they also afford a record of the metabolic profile of a plant, potentially at the time it was collected, or at the very least, at the time of analysis. Even with the enhanced sensitivity of modern analytical techniques, analysis of the metabolites of a herbarium voucher requires removal and consumption of at least part of an entire specimen. We present herein a non-destructive method to analyze the metabolites of herbarium voucher specimens with the droplet-liquid microjunction-surface sampling probe (droplet probe) coupled to ultra-performance liquid chromatography and highresolution mass spectrometry. As proof of concept, a herbarium voucher specimen of Garcinia mangostana (mangosteen) was utilized due to the well-characterized xanthones biosynthesized by this plant, which are of interest as potential anticancer agents. Also, the juice of the fruits of this plant is used widely in the United States and in other countries as a botanical dietary supplement. Metabolite profiles of the sampled surfaces were compared to a subset of xanthone standards. Using this innovative method on the herbarium voucher specimen, we were able to readily identify cytotoxic prenylated xanthones while maintaining the integrity of the entire specimen.

中文翻译：

---

Garcinia mangostana L.（山竹）植物标本馆凭证样本的无损化学分析。


植物标本馆凭证标本主要用于分类学确认。然而，它们还提供了植物代谢概况的记录，可能是在收集植物时，或者至少是在分析时。即使现代分析技术的灵敏度有所提高，对植物标本馆凭证的代谢物进行分析也需要移除并消耗整个标本的至少一部分。我们在此提出了一种无损方法，使用液滴-液体微连接表面采样探针（液滴探针）与超高效液相色谱和高分辨率质谱联用来分析植物标本馆凭证样本的代谢物。作为概念证明，我们使用了山竹植物标本，因为这种植物生物合成的氧杂蒽酮具有良好的特性，可作为潜在的抗癌剂。此外，这种植物的果实汁液在美国和其他国家广泛用作植物膳食补充剂。将采样表面的代谢谱与氧杂蒽酮标准品的子集进行比较。在植物标本馆凭证样本上使用这种创新方法，我们能够轻松识别细胞毒性异戊二烯化氧杂蒽酮，同时保持整个样本的完整性。