Comparative metabolic profiling of root, leaf, fruit, and stem tissues of Panax notoginseng

Panax notoginseng is highly used in traditional Chinese medicine, and its root is valued for ginsenoside contents. However, evidence suggests that other plant parts such as fruit, leaves, and stem are also potential sources of bioactive compounds. Therefore, this study aimed at providing insight into the differential accumulation of metabolites in fruit, leaf, root, and stem tissues collected from P. notoginseng. A total of 808 metabolites from 11 major metabolite classes were identified. Furthermore, 32 Ginsenosides with six conserved Ginsenosides Rg1, Rf, St-3, R1, Ro, Rc, and five conserved notoginsenosides R1, K, M, E, Rb1, were identified with differential accumulation in fruit, leaf, stem, and root tissues. Several other metabolites known for their potential roles in human health were also identified as differentially accumulated in the tissues. Furthermore, the accumulation pattern of ginsenosides in different tissues is highly suggestive of utilizing fruit, leaf, and stem tissues along with roots for value addition of P. notoginseng.