Lagenaria siceraria var. longissima (tenerumi) leaves, a source of N-acylated aromatic amino acids

Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standley is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family, also called Bottle gourd [ 1 ]. There are two common types: a short-necked ornamental type, var. a fiasco, and a long edible type, var. longissima . The fruit of longissima variety is commonly used as a low-calorie vegetable, widely spread in Sicily where it is grown in home gardens and peri-urban farms. The shoots and leaves, called “tenerumi”, are very appreciated in Sicily [ 2 ]. The fruit, seeds, leaves, and flowers of L. siceraria contain various phytochemicals, such as flavonoids, sterols, saponins, and terpenoids which have been reported to exhibit diverse pharmacological activities including antioxidant, cardioprotective, diuretic, hepatoprotective, hypolipidemic, central nervous system stimulant, anthelmintic, antihypertensive, and analgesic effects [ 3 ]. To enhance Italian agri-food products, a phytochemical investigation of L. siceraria var. longissima leaves was conducted. The ethanol extract obtained by Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction (UAE) was investigated by Liquid Chromatography coupled to High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap MS/MS) in negative ion mode. Moreover, a phytochemical investigation allowed us to isolate natural compounds belonging to the class of flavonoids, phenolic acids, glycosylated phenolic acids, caffeic acid derivatives, and N-acylated aromatic amino acids. Their structures were assigned by mono- and bi-dimensional NMR and mass spectrometry experiments. N-acylated aromatic amino acids, also known as lipoamino acids, are a subclass of fatty acid amides which are receiving growing attention due to their structural similarity to endocannabinoids [ 4 ]. These compounds, rarely identified in the plants, are reported for the first time in L. siceraria leaves. Publication History Article published online: 05 March 2026 © 2026. Thieme. All rights reserved. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany