ABSTRACT
Objective: To explore the scientific basis for Farfarae Flos baked with honey. Methods: NMR-based metabolomic approach combined with PAC, OPLS-DA, and univariate analysis was used to investigate the differences between the raw Farfarae Flos (RFF) and Farfarae Flos baked with honey (HFF). Results: Forty metabolites were identified in the NMR spectra, and the multivariate statistical results showed that RFF and HFF could be clearly separated. The levels of 1-O-ethyl-β-D-glucoside, β-glucose, sucrose, and α-glucose were higher and those of valine, aspartate, and threonine were lower in HFF compared with RFF. In light of secondary metabolites, RFF contained more chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid whereas HFF contained more tussilagone and rutin. Conclusion: The results reveal the chemical differences between RFF and HFF in a holistic way, and lay the foundation for the scientific explanation of Farfarae Flos processing.