Divergent effects of roasting on the volatile profiles and metabolomes ofandnuts

Source: PubMed Central Open Access, NCBI / U.S. National Library of Medicine

To evaluate the effects of roasting and varietal differences on pine nut flavour, an electronic nose, HS-SPME-GC-Orbitrap MS, and non-targeted metabolomics were used to compare the volatile profiles and metabolomes of raw and roasted(PP) and(PK) nuts. Roasting markedly amplified the metabolic and flavour differences between the two species. In PK, roasting activated pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis, promoting lipid oxidation and the formation of lipid-derived aldehydes that contributed to a pronounced fatty aroma. In contrast, PP exhibited greater metabolic stability, with flavour formation primarily driven by the Maillard reaction, resulting in pyrazine accumulation and balanced nutty notes. 4,5-epoxydec-2(trans)-enal was identified as the principal aroma-active compound. Molecular docking indicated favourable binding of key odourants to the olfactory receptors OR51E1 and OR5K1. These findings elucidate species-specific flavour formation mechanisms and provide a theoretical basis for optimising roasting strategies for different pine nut varieties. ab0005 Highlights • HS-SPME-GC-Orbitrap MS identified 993 volatiles (25 with OAV > 1). li0005 • Metabolomics showed PP metabolic stability and PK pantothenate/CoA activation. li0010 • PK aroma depends on lipid oxidation; PP uses Maillard with high stability. li0015 • Roasting amplified interspecies metabolic and flavour divergence of two pine nuts. li0020 simple l0005 author-highlights ab0010