ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Metabolism and Chemodiversity
This article is part of the Research TopicEnhancing the Growth, Quality, and Stress Resistance of Medicinal Plants: Advances in Genetic, Metabolic, and Cultivation StrategiesView all articles
Leaf Color as an Indicator of the Accumulation Pattern of Pharmaco-nutritional Compounds in Lithocarpus litseifolius Spring Foliage
Provisionally accepted
- Research Institute of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Hangzhou, China
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This study analyzed the growth dynamics of naturally variegated Lithocarpus litseifolius and the correlation between pharmaco-nutritional components and leaf color. The results showed that spring foliage followed an S-shaped growth curve, while total flavonoid content of the pharmaco-nutritional components exhibited a multi-peak accumulation pattern, initially increasing before declining. Trilobatin levels peaked on April 3 and April 8, whereas phlorizin reached its highest level on May 31. The flavonoid composition of different-colored leaves varied consistently during leaf development, with reddish-brown (RBL) and orange (OL) leaves containing the highest levels. Correlation analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between redness (a*) and flavonoid content—higher anthocyanin levels corresponded to greater flavonoid accumulation. Thus, the optimal period for tea preparation is early April, while late May, at full leaf maturity, is ideal for pharmaceutical harvest. The reddish-brown (RBL) and orange (OL) leaves, having the highest flavonoid content, are best suited for breeding. Therefore, the strong correlation between leaf color and flavonoid composition suggests that color can serve as a morphological indicator for assessing flavonoid accumulation.
Keywords: Lithocarpus litseifolius, spring Foliage, Developmental Stage, pharmaco-nutritional components, Leaf color, Correlation analysis
Received: 17 Oct 2025; Accepted: 25 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhao, Yang, Tan, Yang, Tian and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xu Yang
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