Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry-Based Metabolomic Analysis of Wagyu and Holstein Beef

Abstract

Japanese Black cattle (Wagyu) beef is characterized by high intramuscular fat content and has a characteristic sweet taste. However, the chemical components for characterizing the sweet taste of Wagyu beef have been unclear. In this experiment, we conducted a metabolomic analysis of the longissimus muscle (sirloin) in Wagyu and Holstein cattle to determine the key components associated with beef taste using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Holstein sirloin beef was characterized by the abundance of components such as glutamine, ribose-5-phosphate, uric acid, inosine monophosphate, 5-oxoproline, and glycine. In contrast, Wagyu sirloin beef was characterized by the abundance of sugar components (maltose and xylitol). Dietary fat is known to increase the intensity of sweet taste. These results suggest that the sweet taste of Wagyu beef is due to the synergetic effects of higher sugar components and intramuscular fat.Metabolites 2020, 10, 95 2 of 7 study, we conducted a metabolomic analysis of longissimus muscle (sirloin) samples from Wagyu and Holstein cattle to identify the metabolomic biomarkers characterizing the breed differences in beef taste. ResultsGas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis detected 67 metabolites in the sirloin samples of Wagyu and Holstein. Full results are shown in Supplementary Table S1. The principal component analysis (PCA) score plots showed that the metabolomic profile was divided into Wagyu and Holstein groups (Figure 1). The heatmap of metabolites also showed a difference between Wagyu and Holstein groups (Figure 2). Metabolites contributing to cluster 7, which characterized the Holstein sample, were mainly composed of amino acids (proline and glycine), amino compounds (succinic acid, amino propanoic acid, creatinine, and pyruvic acid), and nucleic acid metabolites (inosine and ribose). In contrast, cluster 1, which characterized the Wagyu sample, was mainly composed of sugar components (maltose and xylitol) and fatty acids (stearic acid, palmitic acid and nonanoic acid). Table 1 shows the differences in the relative quantity of the main metabolite compounds in Wagyu and Holstein samples. The amount of glutamine, ribose-5-phosphate, uric acid, inosine monophosphate, 5-oxoproline, and glycine in Holstein samples was significantly higher than in Wagyu samples. In contrast, the amount of maltose and xylitol in Wagyu samples was significantly higher than that in Holstein samples.Metabolites 2020, 10, 95 2 of 7

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