Metabolic basis of differences in flavor and nutritional quality of Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua revealed by chemosensory evaluation and integrated metabolomics

Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua from Jiuhua Mountain (JHPC) is an important medicinal and food homologous resource, yet the mechanisms underlying the varietal differences in its edible quality and associated metabolic basis remained unclear. To systematically investigate the food characteristics of three main varieties (JH-1, JH-2, and JH-3), this study performed an integrated analysis of their core nutritional components, flavor attributes, and untargeted metabolomic profiles. Multivariate analysis revealed clear distinctions in nutritional composition among the varieties: JH-1 exhibited the highest comprehensive nutritional score, characterized by abundant polysaccharides and a pronounced sweet taste; JH-3 contained higher levels of protein and dietary fiber; while JH-2 showed relatively poor overall nutritional performance. Metabolomic comparison identified 361 significantly differential metabolites between JH-1 and JH-3. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis further indicated that sucrose metabolism and amino acid metabolism were the primary divergent pathways. The accumulation of soluble sugars was closely associated with the sweet taste of JH-1, whereas active amino acid metabolism supported the high-protein characteristic of JH-3. This study elucidated the metabolic basis of quality variations among JHPC varieties, providing a theoretical foundation for breeding specialized varieties for food applications and developing functionally tailored products.