Curcuma aeruginosa or temu hitam is herbaceous plant with high therapeutic values in its rhizome that is widely used in
traditional medicine. However, molecular studies on the secondary metabolite biosynthetic pathway of C. aeruginosa is
still limited. Hence, the aim of this study was to explore and reconstruct the secondary metabolite biosynthetic pathway
of C. aeruginosa rhizome by integrating the metabolite profiling and transcriptomic data. A total of 81 metabolites were
identified in the rhizome of C. aeruginosa; amongst others are curzerene and β-Cubebene which are potent antioxidants.
A total of 28,225 unigene were obtained from the transcriptomic sequencing of C. aeruginosa rhizome and analysed
to identify potential genes associated with the biosynthesis of its metabolites. Of these, 43 unigenes were identified and
mapped onto five sub-pathways; i.e. carotenoid biosynthetic pathway, diterpenoid biosynthetic pathway, monoterpenoid
biosynthetic pathway, terpenoid and steroid biosynthetic pathway, and sesquiterpenoid and triterpenoid biosynthetic
pathway. This study demonstrated a systematic bioinformatic approach to reconstruct a metabolic pathway in the rhizome
of C. aeruginosa using bioinformatic approach.