Betel vine (Piper betle L.) is a dioecious plant and has paved way for researchers to explore the available genetic resources for the biochemical compounds. In the study, twenty sexually dimorphic genotypes of betel vine were characterized for bio-compounds using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-DAD), and as a result identified phenolic compounds and organic acids, including caffeic acid, salicylic acid, t-ferulic acid, sinapic acid, p-coumaric acid, t-cinnamic acid, gallic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, gluconic acid, oxalic acid, lactic acid, tartaric acid, malonic acid, citric acid, and succinic acid. The phenolics and organic acids in the male genotypes were more than the female genotypes; this insight of phytochemicals variability could aid in the gender differences. However, the highest phenolic contents was found in the Kapoori Chintalapudi (68.77 mg/100 g), followed by Kapoori Bihar (67.03 mg/100 g) and Ghanegatte (63.31 mg/100 g) genotypes. The abundance of biomolecules was found in the order, namely gallic acid, sinapic acid, caffeic acid, tartaric acid, citric acid, and malonic acid in regardless of gender. The chemical profile of sexual dimorphs in betel vine and serve as a possible index for gender differentiation. The principal component analysis showed the hierarchical grouping of the genotypes based on the phenolic compounds and organic acids; thereby the divergent genotypes Kapoori Chintalapudi, Ghanaghette, Kapoori Bihar, and Sirugamani-1 were identified for phenolic acid richness. Similarly, CARI-6, Halisahar Sanchi, Kapoori Bihar, and Gangarampur Sanchi were identified for organic acids richness which can be promoted for commercial cultivation.
Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-023-03907-2.
Keywords: Acids; Diversity; Gender; Genotypes; Profiling; Sexual dimorphism.
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