Taste and odor metabolomics of

Background: The fruit of Methods: To differentiate the flavor profiles of Results: Sensory evaluation and electronic tongue revealed that the flesh was characterized by sourness and lemon-like odor, while the seeds exhibited bitterness, pungency, and Sichuan pepper odor. LC-QTOF-MS/MS identified 57 potentially taste-active compounds. VirtualTaste prediction results revealed that citric acid and malic acid had high potential to produce sour taste, and these two acids might be major contributors to the sour sensation of the flesh. The contents of citric acid and malic acid in flesh were higher than those in seeds. Lignans exhibited high probabilities of bitter taste attribution in seeds. It was inferred that lignans such as schisantherin A, schisandrin A, and schisandrin B partially contributed to the bitter taste of seeds. These compounds accumulated abundantly in seeds and possessed certain bioactivities. The contents of schisantherin A, schisandrin A, and schisandrin B in seeds of the 18 sample batches ranged from 2.24-3.61, 2.91-4.06, and 3.23-4.33 mg/g, respectively. HS-GC-IMS analysis identified a total of 76 volatile compounds. Among them, Conclusion: This study clarified the differential distribution of flavor compounds in the fruit of Schisandra chinensis, providing key data for the separate utilization of the flesh and seeds.