Abstract To date, the identification of polyphenols in the archaeological and palaeontological record has been limited. Here, we demonstrate for the first time the presence of flavonoid and phenolic metabolites from non-mineralised coprolites belonging to a non-human mammal species. Myotragus balearicus is the last species of a bovid lineage that became extinct during the Holocene in the western Mediterranean basin. In this work, we characterize the phenolic metabolites of M. balearicus coprolites for the first time. The chemical analysis of coprolites revealed the presence of flavonoids, such as flavones and flavonols. Moreover, the detection of conjugates of hydroxyphenylvaleric, hydroxyphenylpropionic and hydroxyphenylacetic acids, among other catabolites of flavan-3-ols, suggested the presence of the latter structures in plants of the Myotragus diet. The lack of other flavonoids such as isoflavones, flavanones, dihydroflavonols, anthocyanidins and chalcones (or its specific metabolite biomarkers) may suggest a narrow food web in Myotragus, although it may also indicate a complete microbial metabolism during the gut passage or even post-depositional microbial alterations or diagenetic transformations. Based on the phenolic metabolites identified by mass spectrometry, the extinct Myotragus did not possess a flavonoid metabolism distinct from that reported in extant mammals, despite the drastic changes suffered under insularity conditions that involved its life history.

中文翻译：

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来自 5000 年前 Myotragus balearicus 粪化石的酚类代谢物，一种已灭绝的岛状牛科动物

摘要 迄今为止，考古和古生物学记录中对多酚的鉴定是有限的。在这里，我们首次证明了属于非人类哺乳动物物种的非矿化粪化石的类黄酮和酚类代谢物的存在。Myotragus balearicus 是在地中海西部盆地全新世期间灭绝的最后一种牛科动物。在这项工作中，我们首次对 M. balearicus coprolites 的酚类代谢物进行了表征。粪化石的化学分析表明存在类黄酮，如黄酮和黄酮醇。此外，检测羟基苯戊酸、羟基苯丙酸和羟基苯乙酸的结合物，以及黄烷-3-醇的其他分解代谢物，表明在 Myotragus 饮食的植物中存在后一种结构。其他黄酮类化合物如异黄酮、黄烷酮、二氢黄酮醇、花青素和查耳酮（或其特定代谢物生物标志物）的缺乏可能表明 Myotragus 的食物网狭窄，尽管它也可能表明在肠道通道期间甚至沉积后有完整的微生物代谢微生物改变或成岩转化。根据质谱鉴定的酚类代谢物，尽管在涉及其生活史的岛国条件下发生了剧烈变化，但已灭绝的 Myotragus 并不具有与现存哺乳动物报告的不同的黄酮类代谢物。花青素和查耳酮（或其特定的代谢物生物标志物）可能表明 Myotragus 中的食物网很窄，尽管它也可能表明在肠道通道期间微生物代谢完全，甚至沉积后微生物改变或成岩转化。根据质谱鉴定的酚类代谢物，尽管在涉及其生活史的与世隔绝的条件下发生了剧烈变化，但已灭绝的 Myotragus 不具有与现存哺乳动物报告的不同的黄酮类代谢物。花青素和查耳酮（或其特定的代谢物生物标志物）可能表明 Myotragus 中的食物网很窄，尽管它也可能表明在肠道通道期间微生物代谢完全，甚至沉积后微生物改变或成岩转化。根据质谱鉴定的酚类代谢物，尽管在涉及其生活史的岛国条件下发生了剧烈变化，但已灭绝的 Myotragus 并不具有与现存哺乳动物报告的不同的黄酮类代谢物。