Integrative analysis of the metabolome and transcriptome provides insights into the mechanisms of Lignan biosynthesis in <i>Herpetospermum pedunculosum</i><i> </i>(Ser.) C. B. Clarke

Herpetospermum pedunculosum (Ser.) C. B. Clarke is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine that relies heavily on the lignans with antioxidant and hepatoprotective functions found in its dried ripe seeds (Herpetospermum caudigerum). However, little is known about the regulatory mechanisms of lignan biosynthesis in H. pedunculosum. Herein, we used metabolome (non-targeted UHPLC-MS/MS) to identify key metabolites, which are involved in the lignan production during green mature (GM) and yellow mature (YM) stages of the H. pedunculosum. Seeds of the Herpetospermum pedunculosum (Ser.) C. B. Clarke are green at the green mature stage (30 days after pollination, 30 DAP) and black at the yellow mature stage (60 days after pollination, 60 DAP).