Metabolic profiling and secondary metabolite accumulation during fruit development of Cornus officinalis Sieb. et Zucc

Cornus officinalis Sieb. et Zucc. is one of the most important medicinal plants. The various medicinal properties include analgesic, diabetic, diuretic, and tonic properties. Several studies have focused on the characteristics of bioactive compounds. However, there is no information available on the bioactive compounds present in the different developmental stages of C. officinalis fruit. This study aims to provide a brief analysis of primary and secondary at the four different developmental stages of the Cornus officinalis fruit (green, light red, red, and red ripened fruit). According to this metabolome analysis, a total of 37 metabolites (1 amine, 2 sugar alcohols, 5 carbohydrates, 12 organic acids, and 17 amino acids) were detected in the fruit. The content of most sugars and sugar alcohols has been shown to increase during fruit ripening. Furthermore, increasing accumulation patterns of total anthocyanin and carotenoid contents and decreasing patterns of triterpenoid and phenolic contents were observed during fruit development. Most sugar levels were positively correlated with total anthocyanin and carotenoid contents. Additionally, the fruit have been found to have strong antibacterial activities that increased during ripening; the fruit also possessed strong antioxidant activities. Considerable variations in the primary and secondary metabolite contents during different fruit developmental stages of C. officinalis have been observed. This study used a biochemical approach to determine the primary and secondary metabolites present in C. officinalis during fruit development.