Bitter orange, Citrus aurantium L. var. amara (CAVA), is an important crop and its flowers\nand fruits are widely used in China as a food spice, as well as in traditional Chinese medicine, due to\nits health-promoting properties. The secondary metabolites that are present in plant-derived foods or\nmedicines are, in part, responsible for the health benefits and desirable flavor profiles. Nevertheless,\ndetailed information about the bioactive ingredients inCAVAis scarce. Therefore, this study was aimed\nat exploring the phytochemicals of CAVA by high performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole\ntime-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Here, a systematic screening method combined\nwith HPLC-Q-TOF-MS was presented. This technique was used to systematically screen metabolites,\nprimarily from the complex matrix of CAVA, and to identify these compounds by their exact masses,\ncharacteristic fragment ions, and fragmentation behaviors. A total of 295 metabolites were screened\nby the screening method and 89 phytochemicals were identified in the flowers, fruits, roots, leaves,\nand branches of CAVA. For the first time, 69 phytochemicals (flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, etc.)\nwere reported from CAVA. The results highlight the importance of CAVA as a source of secondary\nmetabolites in the food, medicine, and nutraceutical industries.
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