Discrimination of Aroma Characteristics for Cubeb Berries by Sensomics Approach with Chemometrics

Metabolomics identify landscape of food sensory properties

Sensory evaluation is a key component of food production strategy. The classical food sensory evaluation method is time-consuming, laborious, costly, and highly subjective. Since flavor (taste and smell), texture, and mouthfeel are all related to the chemical properties of food, there has been a growing interest in how they affect the senses of food. In the past decades, emerging metabolomics has received much attention in the field of sensory evaluation, because it not only offers a broad picture of chemical composition for sensory properties but also revealed their changes and functions in food proceeding. This article reviewed food chemicals regarding the flavor, smell, and texture of foods, and discussed the advantages and limitations of applying metabolomics approaches to sensory evaluation, including GC-MS, LC-MS, and NMR. Taken together, this review gives a comprehensive, critical overview of the current state, future challenges, and trends in metabolomics on food sensory properties.

Identification of Organic Volatile Markers Associated with Aroma during Maturation of Strawberry Fruits

In the present study, organic volatile markers of three strawberry varieties (Albion, Festival and Frontera) during the maturation process were investigated. Forty metabolites associated with aroma in fresh strawberries were monitored during seven stages of maturation using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) equipped with headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME). The data were evaluated using multivariate analysis to observe correlations between the organic volatile compound profile and the seven phenological stages of maturation for each strawberry variety. The dynamic levels of butanoic acid methyl ester, hexanoic acid methyl ester, octylcyclohexane, cyclohexane,1,1,2-trimethyl, linalool, tetradecane, and α-muurolene underwent distinctive changes in concentration during the maturation process. The multivariate analysis also allowed the identification of these compounds as possible volatile markers to measure the maturation of strawberry fruits in all three varieties. These findings highlight the importance of the timing of harvest and maturation stage in each variety to preserve or improve the desirable aromatic characteristics of strawberry fruits.

Insights into the major aroma-active compounds in clear red raspberry juice (Rubus idaeus L. cv. Heritage) by molecular sensory science approaches

The major aroma-active compounds in clear red raspberry juice were identified by molecular sensory science approaches. Thirty-one aroma-active compounds were identified using detection frequency analysis and aroma extract dilution analysis. Among them, 18 volatiles with aroma activity in red raspberry were identified for the first time, while 14 volatiles with odor activity values (OAVs) ≥ 1 were confirmed as the major aroma-active compounds. Three C6 aldehydes showed the highest detection frequencies of 8, and β-ionone exhibited the highest OAV of 9507 and flavor dilution factor of 512, which indicated that the floral and grassy note could be dominant in overall aroma. Quantitative descriptive analysis suggested that the grassy, floral, woody, and caramel-like notes can be simulated using aroma recombination model 1. Electronic nose analysis also demonstrated that model 1 had closer similarity to the original juice than others. The combination strategy used here would help improve the knowledge of red raspberry aroma.