Identification of key taste components in loquat using widely targeted metabolomics

Shicheng Zou; Jincheng Wu; Muhammad Qasim Shahid; Yehua He; Shunquan Lin; Zhenhua Liu; Xianghui Yang

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.126822

Identification of key taste components in loquat using widely targeted metabolomics

Food Chem. 2020 Apr 18:323:126822. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.126822. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Shicheng Zou¹, Jincheng Wu², Muhammad Qasim Shahid³, Yehua He¹, Shunquan Lin¹, Zhenhua Liu⁴, Xianghui Yang⁵

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, PR China; Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (South China), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, PR China.
² Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Ecology-Toxicological Effects and Control Techniques of Emerging Contaminants, Putian University, Putian 351100, PR China.
³ State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, PR China.
⁴ School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China. Electronic address: Zhenhua6885@gmail.com.
⁵ State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, PR China; Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (South China), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, PR China. Electronic address: gzyxh@scau.edu.cn.

PMID: 32334307
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.126822

Abstract

Loquats can be divided into white- and yellow-fleshed cultivars. Generally, white-fleshed cultivars taste better than yellow-fleshed cultivars. Currently, metabolic causes of differences in taste are unknown, due to the lack of a large-scale and comprehensive investigation of metabolites in loquat fruit. Here, we performed a LC-MS/MS-based widely targeted metabolome analysis on two cultivars, 'Baiyu' (white-fleshed) and 'ZaozhongNo. 6' (yellow-fleshed). A total of 536 metabolites were identified, 193 of which (including 7 carbohydrates, 12 organic acids and 8 amino acids) were different between the cultivars. Pathway enrichment analysis also identified significant differences in phenolic pathways between the cultivars. Our results suggest that taste differences between the cultivars can be explained by variations in composition and abundance of carbohydrates, organic acids, amino acids, and phenolics. This study provides new insights into the underlying metabolic causes of taste variation in loquat.

Keywords: Amino acids; Carbohydrates; Eriobotrya japonica; Metabolite profiling; Organic acids.