Metabolite profiling of Huaiyang Medicago polymorpha with different mowing crops

The main purpose of our study was to identify and compare secondary metabolites due to different mowing in order to make better use of Huaiyang Medicago polymorpha. The metabolite profiling of Huaiyang Medicago polymorpha with two mowing crops was performed using a rapid resolution liquid chromatography system with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (RRLC-QTOFMS) followed by multivariate statistical analyses. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) results showed a clear distinction between two mowing crops. The major metabolites that contributed to mowing discrimination were identified. The results also showed that the content of major active compounds in Medicago polymorpha from the second crop are higher significantly than the first crop. This study suggests that the strategy is a reliable and simple method for the rapid discrimination of subtle variations due to different mowing crops.