npj Science of Food (Nov 2024)

An ideal leaf spraying strategy of brown sugar for edible medicinal plants of Viola inconspicua

  • Xuhan Chen,
  • Kemei Wang,
  • Ting Qin,
  • Yachao Bai,
  • Qi Li,
  • Aimin Guo,
  • Bin Liao,
  • Jun Zhang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-024-00343-1
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 1
pp. 1 – 13

Abstract

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Abstract The typical edible medicinal plants of Viola inconspicua were compared with leaf-green, biomass, metabolomes, and bacterial communities, after leaf-spraying water (A), brown sugar water (B), brown sugar, urea, and KH2PO4 water (C), or KH2PO4 and urea water (D). The plants sprayed with C solution presented relatively normal leaf-green and the highest biomass. In contrast of A group, B, C, and D groups were found with 72, 94, and 104 leaf differently accumulated metabolites (DAMs) and 105, 88, and 92 root DAMs, respectively. Typically, relative abundances of amino acids were elevated in C and D groups, while those of leaf flavonoids were increased in B group. Noticeably, leaf DAMs of C group versus A group had strong correlations with one to more phylum- or/and genus-dominant bacteria of C group. Taken together, leaf-spraying brown sugar, urea, and KH2PO4 water are ideal for holding leaf-green and biomass in V. inconspicua plants.