Composition analysis of rootstock cherry (Prunus mahaleb L.), a potential source of human nutrition and dietary supplements.

Mahaleb cherry (Prunus mahaleb L.), an introduced variety in Central China, is generally planted for seed propagation while their fruit pulps were wasted. This study investigated the phytochemical and volatile composition of mahaleb cherry. The results showed it is rich in mineral elements, especially trace ones as like iron, copper, and zinc etc., with 5–10 times the content higher than sweet cherry. In addition, the extract of mahaleb cherry showed strong antioxidant capacity, and 62 components were identified through the UPLC–ESI–MS/MS, which contained three kinds of organic acids and 45 polyphenol compounds. Particularly, 29 compounds were first reported in cherry varieties. While for its strong aroma-related volatile composition, a SPME–GC/MS analysis indicated that aldehydes were the major volatile compounds (36.7%) with a content of 5.67 μg/100 g FW. Furthermore, coumarin and hydrocoumarin are first found in cherry fruit pulp as its unique aroma compounds. The clear identification of the basic compounds in mahaleb cherry is of great significance to reduce the waste of resources and promote its further rational processing and utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]