Genotype‐Dependent Chemical Diversity and Bioactivity in Purple Elephant Grass: A Metabolomics‐Guided Evaluation for Animal Nutrition

Abstract

Purple elephant grass ( Cenchrus purpureus (Schumach.) Morrone) is a valuable forage crop with potential bioactive properties that influence animal health. This study presents a comprehensive metabolomic characterization of two purple elephant grass genotypes (T441 and T515) using high‐resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), molecular networking, and advanced in silico annotation tools. A total of 142 metabolites were putatively annotated at metabolomics standards initiative (MSI) confidence Levels 2 and 3, encompassing flavonoids, anthocyanins, phenolic acids, terpenoids, steroids, nitrogen‐containing compounds, and primary metabolites. Flavonoid and anthocyanin profiling revealed genotype‐specific patterns. Van Krevelen and fold‐change analysis highlighted subtle but meaningful metabolic divergences, with discriminant metabolites serving as chemical markers of each genotype. Voltammetric and DPPH assays confirmed distinct antioxidant capacities, with T441 showing slightly higher redox activity, correlating with the abundance of readily oxidizable phenolics. Both genotypes displayed significant anti‐inflammatory activity in vitro, modulating nitric oxide production without cytotoxic effects, linking metabolite composition with functional biological effects. These findings demonstrate that purple elephant grass exhibits a chemically diverse metabolome with genotype‐dependent variations, providing insights into the bioactive potential of flavonoid‐ and anthocyanin‐rich genotypes for forage quality, animal nutrition, and health. Untargeted HRMS metabolomics annotated 142 metabolites in two purple elephant grass genotypes. Genotype‐dependent metabolic signatures were revealed using molecular networking and chemometric analyses. Flavonoid and anthocyanin profiles explained differences in antioxidant capacity between genotypes. Both genotypes showed anti‐inflammatory activity by modulating nitric oxide production without cytotoxicity. Purple elephant grass is a promising source of bioactive metabolites for improving forage quality and animal nutrition.