Revealing the mechanism of post-harvest processing on rose quality based on dynamic changes in water content, enzyme activity, volatile and non-volatile metabolites

• Published in: Food chemistry 2024-08, Vol.448, p.139202-139202, Article 139202
• Main Authors: Xu, Huihuang, Sutar, Parag Prakash, Ren, Weike, Wu, Min
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Edible rose; Metabolomics; Non-volatile compound; Post-harvest processing; Volatile compound
• ISSN: 0308-8146; 1873-7072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.139202

Existing studies on post-harvest processing of edible roses have mainly focused on processing techniques and physicochemical properties of the final dried products, with limited studies on how changes in metabolites during processing affect the quality of these products. This study investigated changes in water content and status, enzyme activity, phenolic compounds, and volatile and non-volatile compounds during processing and revealed the mechanisms by which post-harvest processing (drying without blanching (WBD) and drying with blanching (BD)) affects the quality of dried roses by establishing their correlations. Results showed that the blanching reduced the relative content of free water and water activity, thus reducing the subsequent drying time and enzyme activity. The BD method caused higher levels of phenolic compounds than the WBD method in terms of gallic acid, ellagic acid, epicatechin, and quercetin. The OPLS-DA analysis identified 6 differential volatiles out of 72 detected volatiles, contributing to the unique aroma of dried roses by activating olfactory receptors through hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions. 58 differential metabolites were screened from 964 non-volatile metabolites. KEGG pathway analysis revealed that the changes in volatile and non-volatile metabolites induced by different processing methods were due to the effect of blanching on glutathione and fatty acid metabolism. These findings provide a comprehensive understanding of how post-harvest processing affects the quality of dried roses. •The blanching step increased the drying rate by changing water content and status.•72 volatile and 964 non-volatile compounds were identified in processed rose petals.•Differential compounds were identified for rose petals at different processing stages.•The blanching step altered the metabolic pathways of the non-volatile compounds.•Volatile compounds bound to ORs by hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions.