Study on the Distribution of Low Molecular Weight Metabolites in Mango Fruit by Air Flow-Assisted Ionization Mass Spectrometry Imaging

Mass spectrometry imaging is a novel molecular imaging technique that has been developing rapidly in recent years. Air flow-assisted ionization mass spectrometry imaging (AFAI-MSI) has received wide attention in the biomedical field because of its features such as not needing a pretreatment sample, having high sensitivity, and wide coverage of metabolite detection. In this study, we set up a mass spectrometry imaging method for analyzing low molecular metabolites in mango fruits by the AFAI-MSI method. Compounds such as organic acids, vitamin C, and phenols were detected from mango tissue by mass spectrometry under the negative ion scanning mode, and their spatial distribution was analyzed. As a result, all the target compounds showed different distributions. Citric acid was mainly distributed in the pulp. Malic acid, quinic acid, and vitamin C universally existed in the pulp and peel. However, galloylglucose isomer and 5-galloylquinic acid were predominantly found in the peel. These results show that AFAI-MSI can be used for the analysis of mango fruit endogenous metabolites conveniently and directly, which will facilitate the rapid identification and in situ characterization of plant endogenous substances.