Metabolomic evaluation of different starter culture effects on water-soluble and volatile compound profiles in nozawana pickle fermentation

• Published in: Food chemistry. Molecular sciences 2021-07, Vol.2, p.100019, Article 100019
• Main Authors: Tomita, Satoru, Watanabe, Jun, Kuribayashi, Takeshi, Tanaka, Sachi, Kawahara, Takeshi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cruciferous vegetables; Fermented food; Fermented pickle; Isothiocyanates; Lactic acid bacteria; Metabolomics; NMR; SPME-GC/MS
• ISSN: 2666-5662; 2666-5662
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fochms.2021.100019

•Fermented nozawana pickle with starter culture strains was studied by metabolomics.•NMR and SPME-GC/MS analyses revealed starter culture-dependent metabolite profiles.•Various flavor compounds showed significantly different levels among the strains.•Latilactobacillus curvatus exhibited higher isothiocyanate intensities at a maximum 3.30-fold.•Levilactobacillus brevis influenced on dimethyl trisulfide and S-methyl thioacetate levels. Metabolomic characterization of a lactic-fermented pickle of nozawana (Brassica rapa L. var. hakabura) was conducted to evaluate the effects of different starter culture strains on the chemical profiles. We compared the profiles of water-soluble and volatile compounds obtained by non-targeted nuclear magnetic resonance and solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analyses. Principal component analyses indicated that the fermented samples differed significantly in terms of the levels of various compounds, including taste- and aroma-active components, such as water-soluble residual sugars, organic acids, mannitol, ethanol, dihydroxyacetone, ornithine, γ-aminobutyric acid, choline, volatile isothiocyanates, 3,4-epithiobutyl cyanide, 2,3-butanedione, acetoin, ethyl acetate, dimethyl trisulfide, and S-methyl thioacetate. Fermentation with a Latilactobacillus curvatus culture was associated with a unique metabolite profile characterized by higher levels of isothiocyanates and hexanoic acid and lower levels of lactic acid, acetic acid, acetoin, and 2,3-butanedione. These variations in the chemical profile might be associated with different qualities in fermented nozawana pickle products.