Functional component analysis of <i>Nekemias grossedentata</i> insect tea using widely targeted metabolomics and the TCMSP database

Insect tea, a special non-<i>Camellia</i> tea, is renowned as the "Chinese Kopi Luwak." Its traditional raw materials include <i>Malus sieboldii</i>, <i>Platycarya strobilacea</i> and <i>Litsea coreana</i>. Recently, <i>Nekemias grossedentata</i> (NG), the king of plant flavonoids, has garnered significant attention as a novel raw material. However, it is still unclear what changes have taken place in the metabolites of raw materials during the production of NG insect tea (NGIT). This study employed ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to analyze the metabolites of NGIT and NG. In total, 837 secondary metabolites were identified, with 387 different metabolites and 89 upregulated in NGIT. Further analysis using the Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology (TCMSP) database revealed that 217 identified metabolites were active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), including 92 key active ingredients. Notably, the 19 upregulated TCM active compounds in NGIT are all related to neurological disorders. The contents of anacardic acid and octahydrocurcumin increased significantly by 11.51-fold and 10.41-fold, respectively. This study provides chemical evidence supporting the functional exploration of NGIT.