Integrated metabolomics analysis of pigment metabolite accumulation and color development of fresh Dendrobium officinale juice after processingDownload PDF Download PDF ArticleOpen accessPublished: 30 March 2026Weifeng Ni1,Zhongqi Zhou1,Shu Mao1,Zhaolian Li5,Meichen Liu1,Daqing Zhao1,Liwei Sun2,3,Daian Pan1,Shichao Liu1,2,Yiqiu Yin4 &…Siming Wang1 npj Science of Food , Article number: (2026) Cite this article We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.SubjectsBiochemistryBiotechnologyPlant sciencesAbstractFresh Dendrobium officinale juice (FDOJ) changes color from green to purple after processing; however, the mechanism behind this is unknown. In this study, untargeted and targeted metabolomics were used to analyze pigment-related metabolites. The results showed that the content of delphinidin-type anthocyanin more than doubled in FDOJ after processing. Correlation analysis revealed that major substances in the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway, including phenylalanine, cinnamic acid, and naringenin chalcone, changed with processing. We speculate that accumulation of anthocyanins during processing occurs through de novo anthocyanin biosynthesis starting from phenylalanine, and the addition of phenylalanine traced that the enhancement of enzyme activity promoted the accumulation of anthocyanins. This potential mechanism for development of the purple color in FDOJ provides theoretical guidance for quality control of FDOJ during processing.Data availabilityData will be made available on request.ReferencesXu, Z. et al. Pesticide multi-residues in Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo: Method validation, residue levels and dietary exposure risk assessment. Food Chem. 343, 128490 (2021).Google Scholar Xu, L. et al. 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And we thank the CNSknowall platform (https://cnsknowall.com) for providing data analysis services.Author informationAuthors and AffiliationsNortheast Asia Research Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, ChinaWeifeng Ni, Zhongqi Zhou, Shu Mao, Meichen Liu, Daqing Zhao, Daian Pan, Shichao Liu & Siming WangSchool of Pharmacy, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, ChinaLiwei Sun & Shichao LiuResearch Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital to Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, ChinaLiwei SunGeneScience Pharaceuticals Co., Ltd., Changchun, ChinaYiqiu YinGuangdong Modern Chinese Medicine Technology Co., Ltd, Guangzhou, ChinaZhaolian LiAuthorsWeifeng NiView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarZhongqi ZhouView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarShu MaoView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarZhaolian LiView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarMeichen LiuView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarDaqing ZhaoView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarLiwei SunView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarDaian PanView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarShichao LiuView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarYiqiu YinView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarSiming WangView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarContributionsW. Ni: writing—original draft, methodology, data curation, conceptualization. Z. Zhou: software, methodology. S. Mao: writing—review and editing. Z. Li: resources. M. Liu: conceptualization. D. Zhao: project administration. L. Sun: visualization, software, methodology. D. Pan: writing—review and editing. S. Liu: visualization, writing—review and editing. Y. Yin: visualization, software, methodology. S. Wang: methodology, review, supervision.Corresponding authorsCorrespondence to Shichao Liu, Yiqiu Yin or Siming Wang.Ethics declarationsCompeting interestsThe authors declare no competing interests.Additional informationPublisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.Supplementary informationSupplementary Information (download PDF )Rights and permissionsOpen Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. 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