Abstract
Fritillaria cirrhosa D. Don (known as Chuan-Bei-Mu in Chinese) is a prominent medicinal plant utilized in traditional medicine for chronic respiratory ailments. It has garnered global acknowledgment because of its incorporation in many herbal preparations, resulting in a significant increase in demand and, consequently, leading to the decimation of wild populations. The study aimed to obtain regenerated plantlets of F. cirrhosa using in vitro propagation techniques and evaluate the accumulation of active metabolites and anti-inflammatory properties from in vitro and natural plant bulbs. UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS analysis identified 267 metabolites. Notably, 118 metabolites showed significantly different intensities between the wild bulbs (WBs) and in vitro tissue culture-regenerated bulbs (RBs). Higher edpetiline amounts were obtained from the RBs, and 14 steroid-related metabolites were elevated in RBs. Both RB and WB extracts had comparable anti-inflammatory abilities and significantly inhibited TNF-α-induced epithelial cell TSLP release. Subsequent mechanistic studies revealed that the efficacy of WB and RB extracts depended on the regulation of the TRPV1/NFAT pathway. These findings highlight the viability of in vitro regeneration and medicinal part replacement as sustainable alternatives to the existing detrimental overharvesting of wild Chuan-Bei-Mu populations.