Metabolomics of chemical constituents as a tool for understanding the quality of fruits during development and processing operations

Abstract

SummaryFruit is a crucial component of our diet, and breeding to produce nutrient‐rich cultivars necessitates a thorough examination of their metabolite composition. Fruit contains hundreds of different chemicals, including both primary and secondary (or specialised) metabolites. The structural diversity of health promoting and sensory attributes imparting metabolites and their complex interactions during fruit growth and developments were uncovered by high‐throughput metabolomics. Both targeted and non‐targeted metabolomics approach are used for the comprehensive analysis of small molecules from various complex matrices, addressing genetic, environment effect, metabolic programming, etc. With advances of mass spectrometer (MS), targeted metabolomics with non‐targeted metabolomics, MS‐based fingerprinting, profiling or imaging strategies and pseudo‐targeted are being employed to elucidate novel bioactive compounds. The exemplary reports cover a wide range of fruit metabolic implications, addressing the impact of processing on fruit flavour quality, the identification of sensory and nutraceutical biomarkers in fruits, metabolic alterations in fruits during post‐harvesting and future prospects. The examination of metabolomics profiles of multiple fruit species is anticipated to be benefitted for the expansion of fruits in terms of nutritional and health benefits aspects in the upcoming years.

Evaluation of functional quality of water kefir with Haematococcus pluvialis biomass and colour pigment astaxanthin

“…Several metabolomics investigations have demonstrated the critical importance of assessing small metabolites in determining food quality. Specifically, the application of GC-MS-based metabolomics is considered an appropriate method for the identification of small molecular metabolites, including acids, phenolic acids, amino acids, and sugars (Singh et al, 2023). In the current study, nine different fatty acids determined by GC-MS analysis are shown in Table 2.…”

Foodomics: futuristic omic strategies to assess the impact of food nutrients on human health and gut microbiome

“…Cheah et al (2013) suggested that many plant-based products, such as lycopene from tomato and grape seed extract, possess intestinal protective benefits and have been used to produce new pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals for avoiding inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Singh et al (2023) provided an extensive and comprehensive review on the various metabolites found in fruits, offering a thorough exploration of the diverse array of compounds present in these natural sources. Besides fruits and vegetables, culinary herbs were also being explored for their rich diversity of phenolic metabolites.…”

“…The American Chemical Society journal known as Analytical Chemistry dedicated its cover to foodomics in December 2012 (Garc ıa-Cañas et al, 2012). This interdisciplinary field encompasses genomics, which delves into the composition, functions, and expression outcomes of the genome; transcriptomics, which focuses on understanding gene expression at the RNA level; metagenomics, which examines genetic material from diverse samples; metatranscriptomics, which involves in analysing the comprehensive gene expression profile in the microbiome; proteomics, the study of basic structures, shapes, spatial, and temporal localisation of proteins; and metabolomics, a quantitative investigation of all metabolites to understand their relationship with physiological changes (Bordoni et al, 2014;Cifuentes, 2017;Pan & Barrangou, 2020;Singh et al 2023). This integrative approach enhances our understanding of how food contributes to health promotion, disease prevention, and individual performance improvement.…”

Modification of the bioactivity, digestibility and rheological behaviour of different millets by lactic acid fermentation

“…Solid-state fermentation is one such process of biochemical modifications of grain matrix brought by microorganisms and their enzymes to enhance physiochemical properties, digestibility, mineral bioavailability and reduce anti-nutrients (Karovičová & Kohajdova, 2007). During solid-state fermentation, microbes produce a wide variety of chemical compounds that enhance its nutritional property and sensory characteristics and boost the overall quality of the finished product (Singh et al, 2023). Lee et al (2008) employed fermentation to enhance antioxidant properties of black beans and observed an increase in phenol and anthocyanin contents.…”