Metabolic characteristics and nutritional quality of fresh jujube (Ziziphus jujuba mill.) fruits in eleven producing areas

Jujube (<i>Ziziphus jujuba</i> Mill.) is an economically important fruit tree in China, yet systematic evaluations of fresh jujube quality across major production regions remain limited, constraining industry development. In this work, an integrated LC-MS/MS based metabolomics strategy combined with multivariate statistical analyses and comprehensive ranking was employed to characterize metabolic composition and overall fruit quality of 30 fresh jujube varieties from 11 major producing regions. A total of 460 metabolites spanning 30 categories were identified and quantified, with organic acids, flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, and nucleotide derivatives predominating. Metabolomic profiling revealed pronounced regional differentiation, showing a clear east-west divergence in North China but negligible north-south variation. Notably, varieties XJ-X-Y (132 points) and BJ-L-H (129 points) achieved the highest comprehensive scores, reflecting their well-balanced nutritional profiles. Collectively, these results provide robust metabolomic evidence for fresh jujube quality optimization and support its industrial exploitation and functional food development.