Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Capacity Comparison of Wild-Type and Yellow-Leaf Mutant of .

BACKGROUND

The yellow-leaf mutant of exhibits an altered phenylpropanoid metabolism pathway compared to wild-type (WT). However, details on the metabolites associated with leaf color variation, including color-specific metabolites with bioactive constituents, are not fully understood.

METHODS

Chemical and metabolomics approaches were used to compare metabolite composition and antioxidant capacity between the mutant and WT leaves.

RESULTS

The mutant exhibited an irregular xylem structure with a significantly lower phenolic polymer lignin content and higher soluble phenolic compounds. Untargeted metabolomics analysis identified phenolic compounds, particularly lignans, as key differential metabolites between and WT, with a significant increase in the mutant. The neolignan derivative balanophonin-4--D-glu was identified as a characteristic metabolite in the mutant. The soluble phenolic compounds of the mutant exhibited higher FRAP, ABTS, DPPH, and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity than in WT. Correlation analysis showed a positive relationship between antioxidant capacity and phenolic compounds in .

CONCLUSIONS

Metabolites associated with leaf color variation in the yellow-leaf mutant demonstrated high antioxidant capacity, particularly in scavenging hydroxyl radicals.