Abstract: Sheath blade is the unique organ of bamboo shoot, which is located at the apex of the sheath. It is unclear whether the nutrient content of sheath blades differs among species and affects the formation of bamboo shoots’ taste quality. Here, we analyze the nutrient contents of sheath blades, and the contents of flavor compounds and roughness substances of bamboo shoots across 22 bamboo species (or forms) from 6 genera growing in the same site and under the same artificial interference measures. The results showed that the coefficients of variation of N, P, and soluble sugar contents in sheath blades ranged from 23.66% to 35.30%, belonging to medium variations. The coefficients of variation of C, starch and nonstructural carbohydrates were all less than 20%, which were weak variations. The coefficients of variation of oxalic acid, tannin, lignin, bitter amino acids, aromatic amino acids and delicious amino acids in bamboo shoots were more than 54%, which were strong variations. The coefficients of variation of other taste quality indices ranged from 22.95% to 49.31%, which were medium variations. The results of redundancy analysis showed that the contents of N and P in sheath blades were positively correlated with the contents of oxalic acid, total acid, tannin, bitterness and aromatic amino acids in bamboo shoots, but negatively correlated with cellulose content and the content and proportion of sweet and delicious amino acids. The contents of C and soluble sugar were positively correlated with soluble sugar contents, sugar-acid ratio, and the content and proportion of delicious amino acids, but negatively correlated with the contents of oxalic acid, total acid, and sweet amino acid. There was a significant negative correlation between starch content of sheath blades and lignin content of bamboo shoots. Nitrogen content of sheath blade was the main nutrient index affecting taste quality. Our results indicated that there were significant differences in nutrient content of sheath blades and taste quality of bamboo shoots among different bamboo species and forms, and that nutrient content of sheath blades had a significant effect on the taste quality. High N content promoted the synthesis of bitter, sour and aromatic substances in bamboo shoots, while inhibited the synthesis of sweet and fresh substances.

Key words: bamboo shoot, sheath blade, nutrient, taste quality, interspecific difference.