Correlation and statistical analysis
To measure the linear dependence between the variables, Pearson’s correlation coefficient was calculated using R statistical package. Heat maps were generated based on correlation values of metabolites and hormones. Circos plot represents the relationship between hormones and metabolites, which was generated based on correlation values of individual metabolites and hormones. The statistical significant differences of control and salt-treatments were calculated by using one-way ANOVA at P < 0.001, P < 0.01 and P < 0.05.