Metabolic fingerprinting reveals differences between shoots of wild and cultivated carrot (Daucus carota L.) and suggests maternal inheritance or wild trait dominance in hybrids

► We compared 1H NMR metabolomic fingerprinting of wild and cultivated carrot shoots. ► Main differences reside in primary metabolism. ► Chlorogenic and feruloyl quinic acid also show changes between the two carrot types. ► Wild × cultivar hybrid shoots cannot be distinguished from the wild maternal parent. ► Results suggest that introgression of cultivar traits into the wild type is possible.