Exploring lipid profiles and unveiling potential lipid markers in raw and vinegar-processed Schisandra chinensis fruit

<i>Schisandra chinensis</i> fruit is a food-as-medicine species extensively used in diverse phytotherapeutical applications. Spurred by its widespread use, this study employed a modified MTBE-based lipid extraction procedure on raw and vinegar-processed <i>Schisandra chinensis</i> fruit. Subsequently, lipid composition analysis was conducted using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography interfaced with ion mobility-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Altogether, 339 lipid molecular species were annotated for the raw and vinegar-processed variants, spanning 24 subclasses and falling into five categories. The KEGG analysis revealed that glycerophospholipid metabolism, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, and autophagy were the top three pivotal biological pathways in the response to vinegar processing. Moreover, this study pinpointed potential lipid markers capable of differentiating between the two forms, and initiated a preliminary quantitative analysis for their concurrent determination. The results presented in this work offer novel perspectives into the molecular mechanism underlying the vinegar processing of the <i>Schisandra chinensis</i> fruit.