Polyphenol metabolic diversity of Chinese peach and nectarine at thinned and ripe stages by UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS combined with multivariate statistical analysis

Peach and nectarine fruits are rich in phenolic compounds, which differ with the varieties and maturity. This study profiled the polyphenol metabolites in 7 Chinese peach and nectarine varieties at thinned and ripe stages by HPLC and UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS. A total of 58 phenolic metabolites were identified in peach and nectarine. Neochlorogenic acid, catechin and chlorogenic acid were the dominant polyphenols in 7 varieties at both thinned and ripe stages. Regarding fruits at the thinned stage, phenolic acids were the major metabolic markers that distinguished 7 different peach and nectarine varieties, whereas flavonoids were the main metabolites differentiated the ripe fruit. Moreover, 3-p-coumaroyl quinic acid, 1-caffeoylquinic acid, myricetin, and kaempferol-3-o-rutinoside were the vital phenolic markers that differentiated thinned young fruit from the ripe one. There were significant differences in the polyphenol metabolic profile in different peach and nectarine varieties in different maturity stages. This work would provide a reference for further peach and nectarine phenolic metabolites investigation.