Exploring the oxidative rancidity mechanism and changes in volatile flavors of watermelon seed kernels based on lipidomics

Xiongwei Yu; Bin Li; Hui Ouyang; Weijian Xu; Ruru Zhang; Xing Fu; Sihai Gao; Shugang Li

doi:10.1016/j.fochx.2023.101108

Exploring the oxidative rancidity mechanism and changes in volatile flavors of watermelon seed kernels based on lipidomics

Food Chem X. 2024 Jan 3:21:101108. doi: 10.1016/j.fochx.2023.101108. eCollection 2024 Mar 30.

Authors

Xiongwei Yu^{1

2

3}, Bin Li¹, Hui Ouyang², Weijian Xu², Ruru Zhang², Xing Fu¹, Sihai Gao⁴, Shugang Li^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
² Engineering Research Center of Bio-process, Ministry of Education/Key Laboratory for Agricultural Products Processing of Anhui Province/School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230601, China.
³ Wuhan Xudong Food Co Ltd, Wuhan 430000, China.
⁴ Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.

Abstract

Watermelon seed kernels (WSK) are prone to oxidative rancidity, while their evaluation biomarkers and changes in volatile flavor are still unknown. The research tracked the changes in volatile compounds and lipid components before and after rancidity using HS-SPME-GC-O-MS and lipidomic techniques. The results showed the flavor of watermelon seed kernels changed significantly before and after rancidity, from mild aroma to rancidity. A total of 42 volatile compounds were detected via GC-O-MS, and a total of 220 lipid molecules were detected via lipidomic technology. 55 lipids with significant differences were screened via multivariate statistical analysis. Combining the above analysis, it found that glycerol phospholipid and glyceride pathways were the most important metabolic pathways and 1-Pentanol and styrene could be used as potential biomarkers to judge the rancidity process of watermelon seed kernels. The research could provide powerful technical support for the storage, transportation and freshness preservation of watermelon seed kernels.

Keywords: Biomarkers; HS-SPME-GC-O-MS; Lipidomics; Oxidative rancidity; Watermelon seed kernels (WSK).