Data from: Comparison of chemical composition in the buds of Aralia elata from different geographical origins of China

Aralia elata buds contain many nutrients and have a pleasant taste with unique flavor. Previous studies mainly focused on triterpene saponins in the root bark of this species, but little information existed concerning other chemical components, especially in the buds. To better understand the nutritional value of Aralia elata, we compared total flavonoids, total saponins, phenolic compounds and mineral elements contents in the buds of Aralia elata collected from eight different geographical regions (S1: Benxi; S2: Linjiang; S3: Pingwu; S4: Enshi; S5: Changbaishan; S6: Shangzhi; S7: Xiaoxinganling and S8: Harbin) in China. The results showed that the basic composition in the buds presented a wide variation noticed by ash (8.76 to 10.35%), crude fiber (5.38 to 11.07%), polysaccharides (33.85 to 46.79 mg/g), total flavonoid content (4.06 to 48.63 mg/g) and total saponins (13.62 to 27.85 mg/g). UPLC combined with LC-MS/MS method was used for the phenolic compounds analysis, and eleven phenolic compounds were identified and quantified in the 8 samples. The total phenolic content in Enshi (S4) was significantly higher than others, and quercetin was the predominant phenolic compound in this sample. We used ICP-OES to identify and quantify nine mineral elements in the buds. The Fe and Cu contents in S5 were much higher than that of others. We got maximum Mg, Mn, Co and Ni contents in S4, and found rich Zn content in S7. Moreover, the maximum estimated quantity of Ca and Sr contents were found in S8. This study indicated that the chemical composition in the buds of Aralia elata was obviously affected by geographical origin. Our results provided an essential theoretical basis on quality evaluation of Aralia elata buds in food production field.龙牙楤木（Aralia elata）芽富含多种营养物质，滋味宜人且风味独特。既往研究多聚焦于该物种根皮中的三萜皂苷类成分，但关于其他化学成分的报道较少，尤其是芽部相关研究更为匮乏。为深入解析龙牙楤木的营养价值，本研究对中国8个不同地理区域采集的龙牙楤木芽中总黄酮、总皂苷、酚类物质及矿质元素含量进行了比较分析，8个采样区域依次为S1本溪、S2临江、S3平武、S4恩施、S5长白山、S6尚志、S7小兴安岭及S8哈尔滨。结果显示，龙牙楤木芽的基础成分存在显著差异：灰分含量为8.76%~10.35%，粗纤维含量为5.38%~11.07%，多糖含量为33.85~46.79 mg/g，总黄酮含量为4.06~48.63 mg/g，总皂苷含量为13.62~27.85 mg/g。本研究采用超高效液相色谱-串联质谱（UPLC-LC-MS/MS）联用技术对酚类物质进行分析，在8个样品中共鉴定并定量出11种酚类成分。恩施样本（S4）的总酚含量显著高于其余样本，且该样本中的优势酚类成分为槲皮素。本研究采用电感耦合等离子体发射光谱（ICP-OES）技术对芽部的9种矿质元素进行鉴定与定量分析，其中S5（长白山）样本中的铁（Fe）与铜（Cu）含量显著高于其余样本；S4（恩施）样本的镁（Mg）、锰（Mn）、钴（Co）及镍（Ni）含量均为最高；S7（小兴安岭）样本的锌（Zn）含量较为丰富。此外，S8（哈尔滨）样本的钙（Ca）与锶（Sr）含量达到峰值。本研究表明，龙牙楤木芽的化学成分显著受地理来源的影响。本研究结果可为食品生产领域龙牙楤木芽的品质评价提供重要的理论依据。