Mass spectrometry based metabolomics approach on the elucidation of volatile metabolites formation in fermented foods: A mini review

Abstract

Metabolomics can be applied for comparative and quantitative analyses of the metabolic changes induced by microorganisms during fermentation. In particular, mass spectrometry (MS) is a powerful tool for metabolomics that is widely used for elucidating biomarkers and patterns of metabolic changes. Fermentation involves the production of volatile metabolites via diverse and complex metabolic pathways by the activities of microbial enzymes. These metabolites can greatly affect the organoleptic properties of fermented foods. This review provides an overview of the MS-based metabolomics techniques applied in studies of fermented foods, and the major metabolic pathways and metabolites (e.g., sugars, amino acids, and fatty acids) derived from their metabolism. In addition, we suggest an efficient tool for understanding the metabolic patterns and for identifying novel markers in fermented foods.

Metagenomic-Metabolomic Mining of Kinema, a Naturally Fermented Soybean Food of the Eastern Himalayas

“…Unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) such as oleate, linoleate, and linolenate were detected in kinema, the biosynthetic pathway of which were also predicted in kinema metagenomes. UFAs are important untargeted metabolites in fermented soybean foods (Park and Kim, 2021), which play an important role in biotic and abiotic stresses (He et al, 2020). The co-existence of B. subtilis with some fungi in kinema might be correlated with increase of unsaturated fatty acids in fermented soybeans (Kanghae et al, 2017).…”

The probiotic chestnut‐based dairy matrix: Influence on the metabolomic formation and the nutritional quality

“…The investigation of fermented dairy-based metabolomics plays an important role in the following; (i) identifying the biochemical changes related to the microbial activity such as metabolic pathways and metabolomic profiles, (ii) enhancing the nutritional value and functional properties, (iii) contributing to the quality and safety of the fermentation process, (iv) verifying the authentication and (v) understanding the production processes associated with economically important traits in industry and the impact of a product on human health (Adebo et al 2017;Park and Kim 2021;Li et al 2022). Metabolomic studies are composed of targeted or nontargeted analyses.…”

“…On the other hand, nontargeted strategies characterise the metabolomic profile of complex samples, without necessarily identifying and quantification of each metabolomic. In order to separate and detect metabolomics in fermented milk products, gas chromatography (GC), liquid chromatography (LC), high-pressure LC (HPLC), ultra-performance LC (UPLC), capillary electrophoresis (CE), nuclear and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR-1H-NMR), near-infrared spectrometry (NIR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ion cyclotron resonance-FT (ICR-FT), UPLC-coupled to mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS), UPLCquadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF MS) and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatographyelectrospray ionisation-quadrupole time of flight-mass spectrometry (HILIC-ESI-Q-TOF MS) are the commonly used analytical tools due to their high separation, sensitivity and reproducibility (Adebo et al 2017;Pan et al 2018;González-Peña and Brennan 2019;Park and Kim 2021;Rocchetti and O'Callaghan 2021;Sen et al 2021).…”

Evaluating the effect of lactic acid bacteria fermentation on quality, aroma, and metabolites of chickpea milk

“…Lactic acid bacteria fermentation involves complex chemistry modulating the quality attributes of fermented foods by producing small molecule metabolites, which can be possibly tailored to achieve specific nutrition and flavor needs ( 21 ). Metabolomics, with high objectivity and reliability, offers a comprehensive and quantitative overview of metabolites in biological systems ( 22 ). Metabolomics is often used to assess critical metabolites related to food quality ( 23 ).…”