The Growth Characteristics and the Active Compounds of Cudrania tricuspidata Fruits in Different Cultivation Environments in South Korea

Cudrania tricuspidata is a traditional medicinal herb in East Asia. The compounds of plants vary depending on environmental factors, such as soil, temperature, drainage, and so on. However, few to no studies have been done on the correlation among environment, growth, and compounds in C. tricuspidata. Thus, we aimed to investigate their relationship. Samples of C. tricuspidata fruit and cultivation soil were collected from 28 cultivation sites in October 2021. Six growth characteristics, eleven soil physicochemical properties, seven meteorological data points, and three active compounds were investigated in this study. We developed and validated an optimized method for quantifying active compounds using UPLC and performed correlation analysis of the environment, growth characteristics, and active compounds. The UPLC-UV method for determining active compounds was validated by measuring the linearity, LOD, LOQ, precision, and accuracy using UPLC. The LOD and LOQ were 0.01–0.03 µg/mL and 0.04–0.09 µg/mL, respectively. The precision was acceptable with RSD% values less than 2%. The recoveries ranged from 97.25 to 104.98% with RSD values <2%, within the acceptable limits. The active compounds were negatively correlated with the size of the fruit, and the growth characteristics were negatively correlated with some environmental factors. The results of this study can be used as basic data for the standard cultural practices and quality control of C. tricuspidata fruits.