Abstract:In order to find out the species and contents of the main phenolic acids which related with tissue browning, phenolic acids of three varieties (Wu Long Peng Sheng, Tai Ping Hong, Feng Dan Bai) of tree peony plantlets during the differentiation were assessed used high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results showed as follows: ten phenolic acids were detected in three different cultivars of tree peony plantlets, and they were paeoniflorin, methyl gallate, gallic acid, shikimic acid, benzoic acid, 4-hydroxy benzoic acid, 4-methoxy-3-hydroxyacetophenone, caffeic acid, catechol and chlorogenic acid. The contents of gallic acid, 4-hydroxy benzoic acid and caffeic acid in browning plantlets were lower than that in non-browning plantlets in three cultivars. The contents of paeoniflorin, methyl gallate, benzoic acid, shikimic acid and catechol in browning plantlets were higher than that in non-browning plantlets. However, the content of 4-methoxy-3-hydroxyacetophenone showed some difference in different varieties, with low Wu Long Peng Sheng and Tai Ping Hong in browning plantlets, but and high Feng Dan Bai in browning plantlets. The results held that paeoniflorin, methyl gallate, gallic acid, shikimic acid, benzoic acid, 4-hydroxy benzoic acid, 4-methoxy-3-hydroxyacetophenone, caffeic acid and catechol were closely related to tissue browning plantlets of tree peony, while the influence of chlorogenic acid in browning plantlets was little. The related types of phenolic acids in browning of tree peony plantlets were clarified preliminarily in this study, which was of great significance for solving the browing problem and improving the quality of tree peony plantlets.