Analysis of Differences in Metabolite and Antioxidant Activity in Highland Red Raspberry Pulp Based on Widely Targeted Metabolomics

TL;DR

This study compares red raspberry pulp from two regions, showing how the plateau environment affects metabolite accumulation and antioxidant activity.

Contribution

A widely targeted metabolomics approach reveals region-specific differences in metabolite profiles and antioxidant activity of red raspberry pulp.

Findings

Qinghai raspberries had 618 up-regulated differential metabolites, 4.35 times higher than Yunnan.

Qinghai raspberries showed higher ORAC and ABTS antioxidant capacities compared to Yunnan.

Metabolic pathway analysis identified significant differences in ABC transporter and purine metabolism between regions.

Abstract

In order to achieve differentiated utilization of red raspberry fruit pulp, a widely targeted metabolomics analysis of pulp from two regions was performed to explore the effect of plateau environment on the accumulation of secondary metabolites of red raspberry. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS), combined with principal component analysis and Orthogonal Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA), was used to process the data and correlate them with the results of four antioxidant assays. Fourteen metabolites were characterized in the fruit pulp of Qinghai raspberries, and 618 up-regulated differential metabolites were found, which was 4.35 times higher than that of Yunnan. Flavonoids and phenolic acids were more abundant, with kaempferol-3-O-sambubioside being endemic to Qinghai, and saccharin-7-O-glucoside and rhamnocereus citrinus being endemic to Yunnan. Metabolic pathway enrichment analysis showed that the fruit pulp from the two regions differed significantly (p < 0.01) in ATP-binding cassette transporter (ABC transporter), purine metabolism, and so on. Antioxidant analysis showed that the Yunnan raspberries (Y-RP) were significantly superior to Qinghai raspberries (Q-RP) in terms of DPPH radical scavenging ability (DPPH) and ferric ion reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP), while Q-RP was significantly superior to Y-RP in terms of oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and ABTS radical scavenging capacity (ABTS). This study showed that the plateau environment significantly promotes the accumulation of functional secondary metabolites of red raspberry, which provides a theoretical basis for the development of the functional components of plateau raspberry.

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