Assessment of Peeling of Astragalus Roots Using 1H NMR- and UPLC-MS-Based Metabolite Profiling

A metabolomic analysis was performed to examine the postharvest processing of Astragalus membranaceus roots with a focus on the peeling procedure using 1H NMR and UPLC-MS analyses. Principal component analysis (PCA) score plots from the 1H NMR and UPLC-MS data showed clear separation between peeled and unpeeled Astragalus roots. Peeled roots exhibited significant losses of several primary metabolites, including acetate, alanine, arginine, caprate, fumarate, glutamate, histidine, N-acetylaspartate, malate, proline, sucrose, trigonelline, and valine. In contrast, the peeled roots contained higher levels of asparagine, aspartate, and xylose, which are xylem-related compounds, and formate, which is produced in response to wound stress incurred during postharvest processing. In addition, the levels of isoflavonoids and astragalosides were significantly reduced in peeled Astragalus root. These results demonstrate that metabolite profiling based on a combination of 1H NMR and UPLC-MS analyses can be used to evaluate peeling procedures used in the postharvest processing of herbal medicines.