Comparative Metabolomics Analysis of Stigmas and Petals in Chinese Saffron (Crocus sativus) by Widely Targeted Metabolomics

作者：Lin Zhou, Youming Cai, Liuyan Yang, Zhongwei Zou, Jiao Zhu, Yongchun Zhang · 发表于：Plants · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.3390/plants11182427 · 被引用次数：23 · 研究领域：Saffron Plant Research Studies、Phytochemicals and Antioxidant Activities、Phytochemistry and Biological Activities

The dried stigmas of Crocus sativus, commonly known as saffron, are consumed largely worldwide because it is highly valuable in foods and has biological activities beneficial for health. Saffron has important economic and medicinal value, and thus, its planting area and global production are increasing. Petals, which are a by-product of the stigmas, have not been fully utilized at present. We compared the metabolites between the stigmas and petals of C. sativus using a non-targeted metabolomics method. In total, over 800 metabolites were detected and categorized into 35 classes, including alkaloids, flavonoids, amino acids and derivatives, phenols and phenol esters, phenylpropanoids, fatty acyls, steroids and steroid derivatives, vitamins, and other metabolites. The metabolite composition in the petals and stigmas was basically similar. The results of the study showed that the petals contained flavonoids, alkaloids, coumarins, and other medicinal components, as well as amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, and other nutritional components. A principal components analysis (PCA) and an orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were performed to screen the different metabolic components. A total of 339 differential metabolites were identified, with 55 metabolites up-regulated and 284 down-regulated. The up-regulated metabolites, including rutin, delphinidin-3-O-glucoside, isoquercitrin, syringaresinol-di-O-glucoside, dihydrorobinetin, quercetin, and galloc...