Comparative study on secondary metabolites characteristics of cultivat-ed tender and mature leaves of Asplenium nidus based on widely targeted metabolomics
ZHAO Wangrui
LUO Dan
DONG Shilang
XU Zhenhuai
WANG Butian
LIN Rong
QU Peng
GE Yu
DU Huabo
ZHOU Chunyan
Abstract：Using Asplenium nidus cultivated in Pu'er city's modern agricultural base as experimental material,a widely tar-geted metabolomics analysis was performed on mature leaves(C group)and tender leaves(D group)via ultra-high-perfor-mance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry(UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS).Orthogo-nal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA)was employed to screen differential metabolites,and Kyoto En-cyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway enrichment was conducted to reveal metabolic regulatory networks,thereby elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying secondary metabolic differences between tender and mature leaves during artificial cultivation.The results showed that a total of 647 metabolites were identified in the leaves of Asple-nium nidus,with 276 significantly differential metabolites identified,including 198 up-regulated and 78 down-regulated.KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the biosynthesis of alkaloids such as tropane derivatives,as well as fla-vonoid and flavonol biosynthesis pathways,played crucial roles in the observed metabolic differences.In conclusion,leaf age significantly influences the metabolomic profile of Asplenium nidus.Steroidal alkaloids are markedly up-regulated in tender leaves,whereas flavonoids are enriched in mature leaves,with differential metabolites mainly concentrated in alka-loid and flavonoid biosynthetic pathways.These results reveal the metabolic regulation characteristics of A.nidus at differ-ent leaf ages and provide a scientific basis for optimizing harvest time,developing bioactive compounds,and evaluating-medicinal value.
Keywords：Asplenium nidusSteroidal alkaloidsFlavonoidsMetabolic heterogeneity
Publication Date：2026-02-05
Online Publishing Date：2026-03-10(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：12( 60-71 )