Discrimination of cabbage (Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis) cultivars grown in different geographical areas using 1H NMR-based metabolomics

Cabbage (Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis) is one of the most popular foods in Asia and is widely cultivated in many countries for the production of lightly fermented vegetables. In this study, metabolomic analysis was performed to distinguish two cultivars of cabbage grown in different geographical areas, Korea and China, using 1H NMR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate statistical analysis. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed clear discrimination between extracts of cabbage grown in Korea and China for two different cultivars (Chunmyeong and Chunjung). The major biochemicals (metabolites) that contributed to discrimination between cabbages grown in the two regions were 4-aminobutyrate (GABA), acetate, asparagine, leucine, isoleucine, O-phosphocholine, phenylacetate, phenylalanine, succinate, sucrose, tyrosine, and valine. These results suggest that the levels of the major metabolites that differ significantly between cabbages grown in these two areas were influenced by environmental factors such as climate and geology. Our study demonstrates that 1H NMR based on metabolomics, coupled with multivariate statistics, can be applied to identify the regions of cultivation of various cabbage cultivars.

► NMR-based metabolomics was performed to distinguish geographical origin of cabbage.
► PCA model showed a clear discrimination between Chinese and Korean cabbages.
► Major metabolites contributed to origin discrimination of cabbages were identified.
► Metabolite profiling is a useful tool for discriminating the origins of cabbages.