Sources of variation of the chemical composition of <i>Lippia origanoides</i> Kunth (Verbenaceae)

<i>Lippia origanoides</i> Kunth is a perennial shrub widely used in Brazilian folk medicine while extracts of its leaves have been shown to possess several therapeutic properties. We investigated this species’ non-volatile compounds through a LC-MS-based untargeted metabolomics approach to evaluate the influence of genetic and developmental factors on <i>L. origanoides</i> metabolism. We compared five adult plants and eight leaf developmental stages separately; the chemical analyses were performed <i>via</i> UHPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS and the resulting data were processed in Progenesis QI 2.0 and in MetaboAnalyst 6.0 for statistical analysis. Luteolin-7-<i>O</i>-glucoside and kaempferol/luteolin were the most intense components in the negative and positive ion modes, respectively. A subtle chemical variation between individuals was found while the leaf development, conversely, strongly affected the chemical profile, which may ultimately result in variation in bioactivity. Altogether, we reported herein new perspectives on <i>L. origanoides</i> non-volatile components and the impact of intraspecific factors on this species’ metabolism.