투고논문

Abstract Eleutherococcus sessiliflorus (Ogapi) is a medicinal plant widely used as a functional food material in East Asia. In this study, a ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) based metabolomics was applied to characterize primary metabolite profiles of bark and fruit tissues. A total of 34 and 33 metabolites were identified in bark and fruit, respectively. Fruit exhibited a monosaccharide dominated profile with high levels of fructose and glucose, whereas bark was sucrose-rich and contained characteristic amino and phenolic metabolites such as arginine, proline, and chlorogenate. These profiles indicate functional differentiation, with fruits specialized for sugar-based carbon storage supporting growth and reproduction, while bark metabolism is oriented toward cellular signaling and stress-related defense. In addition, solvent-dependent analysis of fruit reflux extracts revealed that water extracts were enriched in organic acids (e.g., lactate and succinate), whereas ethanol extracts contained higher levels of sugars. Collectively, this study provides the first comprehensive primary metabolite profiles for E. sessiliflorus, offering a foundation for its functional evaluation and targeted utilization as a bioresource.

Keywords E. sessiliflorus, metabolic profiling, ¹H-NMR, Primary metabolites

* Address correspondence to: Dahye Yoon, Department of Herbal Crop Research, National institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, RDA, Eumseong 27709, Korea; Tel: 82-43-871-5789; Fax: 82-43-871-5759; E-mail: dahyeyoon@korea.kr