Profiling of naturally occurring proanthocyanidins and other phenolic compounds in a diverse peach germplasm by LC-MS/MS

Peach fruits are rich in phenolic compounds and have considerable health benefits. In this study, 19 proan-thocyanidins (PACs) and 37 other phenolic compounds are identified and evaluated in the mature fruits of 217 peach accessions using LC-QTRAP-MS/MS and LC-QTOF-MS analyses. Total PAC quantities ranged from 18.93 to 697.52 mu g/g fresh weight with a variance of 36.8-fold, and accounted for 11.2 % -85.6 % of total phenolics content. Kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside (0.001-0.968 mu g/g), isorhamnetin-3-O-rutinoside (0.001-0.300 mu g/g), taxi-folin (0.006-0.078 mu g/g), luteoloside (0.002-0.068 mu g/g), prunin (0.043-33.333 mu g/g), phlorizin (0.018-1.100 mu g/g), and trans-piceid (0.013-0.472 mu g/g) were also highly diverse. The fruit ripening period, breeding back-ground and fruit type significantly influenced the PACs and phenolic glycosides. This study presents a complete profile of PACs and other major phenolics in 217 peach germplasms, and is expected to aid future peach breeding procedures targeted at producing plants rich in specific phenolics.

Automated summary

Peach fruits are rich in phenolic compounds, including 19 proanthocyanidins and 37 other phenolic compounds. The quantities of these compounds vary among different peach accessions and are influenced by fruit ripening period, breeding background, and fruit type. This study provides a comprehensive profile of phenolic compounds in peach germplasms, which can be useful in breeding peach plants with specific phenolics.