Impact of fruit development, methyl jasmonate treatment, and soil physicochemical factors on targeted functional metabolites in Physalis peruviana L.

Abstract Physalis peruviana L. is a tropical fruit that is nutritionally valuable due to its rich content of health-promoting compounds, including flavonoids, tocopherols, and carotenoids. This study aimed to examine the variation in the concentration of five functional metabolites: epicatechin, α-tocopherol, δ-tocopherol, γ-tocopherol, and β-carotene, throughout immature and mature fruit developmental stages; and to evaluate the incidence of soil physicochemical factors (SPF), and the exogenous methyl jasmonate (MeJA) application on the accumulation of these metabolites in mature fruits. Targeted metabolite quantification was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode-array and fluorescence detection (HPLC-DAD/FLD). The results showed stage-dependent fluctuations in metabolite levels, with a marked increase in tocopherols and β-carotene during the ripening stage. Spearman’s correlation was observed among metabolites and some SPF analyzed in sampling 0, for immature and mature fruits. No statistically significant differences were observed with MeJA treatments, except for α-tocopherol. These findings provide novel insights into the developmental stage, SPF correlations, and elicitor-mediated regulation of bioactive metabolites in P. peruviana fruits, supporting their use in functional food development.