Abstract:

To investigate the differences in metabolites of Acorus tatarinowii at various harvesting ages, widely-targeted metabolomics technology based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was employed to identify and analyze the metabolites. The results revealed that 2,875 metabolites were identified across different harvesting ages, primarily categorized into 12 classes including flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, and organic acids, etc. Principal component analysis demonstrated significant metabolic differences among samples of different harvesting ages: 654, 963, and 710 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were screened between 4-year-old and 3-year-old, 5-year-old and 3-year-old, 5-year-old and 4-year-old plants, respectively, with 92 DAMs consistently present across all comparison groups. Flavonoids constituted the largest proportion of DAMs, and most metabolites exhibited the highest relative content in 3-year-old plants. In the significantly enriched pathways (P<0.01) of chrysoeriol aglycone biosynthesis and biosynthesis of flavones aglycones Ⅲ, metabolites including chrysoeriol, cirsiliol, and diosmetin were downregulated in both 4-year-old and 5-year-old plants compared to 3-year-old plants, indicating that the third year represents the peak accumulation period for flavonoid active components. The variations in metabolites were closely associated with harvesting age, with 3-year-old plants showing the highest relative metabolite content. Thus, the third year is recommended as the optimal harvesting period, providing a theoretical basis for subsequent quality improvement and clinical application of A. tatarinowii.

Key words:

Acorus tatarinowii Schott, UPLC-MS/MS, widely-targeted metabolomics, differential metabolites, metabolic pathways