Seventeen fungicides were determined in different matrices from vineyard areas, including vine leaves, soils, grapes and water, using gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). For leaf analysis, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was performed evaluating different solvents. UAE was compared with other extraction techniques such as vortex extraction (VE) and matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD). The performance of the UAE method was demonstrated on vine leaf samples and on other types of samples such as tea leaves, underlining its general suitability for leaf crops. As regards other matrices, soils were analyzed by UAE and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), grapes by UAE and waters by SPE using cork as the sorbent. The proposed method was applied to 17 grape leaf samples in which 14 of the target fungicides were detected at concentrations up to 1000 μg g⁻¹. Furthermore, the diffusion and transport of fungicides was demonstrated not only in crops but also in environmental matrices.

Background: The genus Arthrophytum Schrenk (Amaranthaceae Juss.) is a relict systematic group restricted to the desert regions of northern Turan. Its species are narrowly endemic, stenotopic, and poorly studied, with virtually no available data on their phytochemical composition. Objectives: This study aimed to conduct the first comparative phytochemical analysis of five Arthrophytum species—A. lehmannianum, A. iliense, A. longibracteatum, A. subulifolium, and A. betpakdalense—to reveal their metabolite profiles and assess chemotaxonomic and functional features. Methods: Phytochemical profiling was performed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) to identify volatile and semi-volatile metabolites in the studied species. Results: GC–MS analysis revealed a predominance of terpenes in all species, along with significant contributions from fatty acids, esters, and other oxygen-containing compounds. The taxa were characterized by a rich pool of isoprenoids, including terpenes, sterols, tocopherols, and squalene, as well as lipid components of cuticular coatings such as fatty acids and long-chain alcohols. Isoprenoids dominated particularly in A. subulifolium and A. longibracteatum. A. iliense showed a high content of carbonyl and aromatic compounds, whereas A. longibracteatum and A. lehmannianum were distinguished by elevated levels of fatty acids and long-chain alcohols. Common metabolites—β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, vitamin E, squalene, and caryophyllene—constituted the conservative biochemical core of the genus. Conclusions: The results obtained for the first time demonstrate distinct chemotaxonomic and functional features of relict Arthrophytum species and highlight their potential for further research and application in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and aromatic industries.

This article presents the results of the first comparative phytochemical analysis of five species of the genus Arthrophytum Schrenk (Amaranthaceae Juss.) — A. lehmannianum Bunge, A. iliense Iljin, A. longibracteatum Korovin, A. subulifolium Schrenk, and A. betpakdalense Korovin & Mironov — using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The genus Arthrophytum is a relict systematic group whose range is limited to the desert regions of Northern Turan. The largest number of representatives of the genus are concentrated in the geologically ancient Betpakdala Desert. All of them are narrowly endemic and stenotopic species growing in inaccessible habitats, which determines their rarity and, as a result, their understudied nature, including the virtual absence of data on their phytochemical composition. Meanwhile, the results of our research, which aimed to conduct a comparative phytochemical analysis of the five above-mentioned species of the genus Arthrophytum to detect and identify their chemical components (using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)), demonstrated the value of their metabolite composition. The analysis showed that the studied taxa are characterised by a rich pool of isoprenoids, including terpenes, sterols, tocopherols and squalene, as well as lipid components of cuticular coatings — fatty acids and long-chain alcohols. It was found that isoprenoids dominate in all studied species, especially in A. subulifolium and A. longibracteatum. A. iliense is distinguished by a high content of carbonyl and aromatic compounds, while A. longibracteatum and A. lehmannianum are characterised by an increased content of fatty acids and long-chain alcohols. Common metabolites — β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, vitamin E, squalene, and carophyllene — form the conservative biochemical core of the genus. Thus, the results obtained for the first time demonstrate the chemotaxonomic and functional features of relict species of the genus Arthrophytum and open up prospects for their further study and use in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and aromatic industries.