Identification and discrimination of lilii bulbus origins based on lipidomics using UHPLC–QE-Orbitrap/MS/MS combined with chemometrics analysis

Lilium brownii var. viridulum Baker is an economically important plant, and its bulbs are popular among consumers for their high nutritional value. Due to the influence of environment, the chemical composition of lily from different origin is different, which leads to the different medicinal and nutritional values. Thus, it is very significant and necessary to discriminate the origins of lily. In this study, lipid classes and molecular species of lily samples from eight origins were identified and quantified by UHPLC-QE-Orbitrap/MS/MS and combined with chemometrics for modeling and analysis. The results showed that a total of 16 lipid classes and 88 lipid molecules were identified and quantified. The partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) showed that there were significant differences in lipid metabolites between LH (Daodi) and other origins. And 39 characteristic compounds such as TAG 16:0/18:0/18:2, TAG 18:0/18:1/18:2, and LDGCC 15:2 could be used as the markers to identify the geographical origin of lily. This study established a new method to identify the origin traceability of lily in different production areas, and provided a theoretical basis to evaluate the nutritional value of lilies from different origins.