Quality Change of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (Pericarps of Citrus reticulata ‘Chachi’) During Storage and Its Sex-Based In Vitro Digestive Performance

Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (CRP), particularly including the pericarp of <i>Citrus reticulata</i> 'Chachi' (GCP), has been widely used as a food, a dietary supplement, and traditional Chinese medicine. Despite the widespread use of traditional foods, there is limited evidence regarding the precise relationships between storage conditions, aging duration, and the digestive performance of CRP. In this study, the aim was to investigate the impact of the storage conditions on the quality of aged GCP during shelf life and to evaluate the subsequent digestive performance of corresponding GCP decoctions. Respiration in GCP was monitored by measuring oxygen (O₂), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and methane (CH₄) gases throughout the storage simulation, with O₂ and CO₂ validated as prospective safety measures. Five flavonoids (hesperidin, didymin, nobiletin, tangeretin, and 3,5,6,7,8,3',4'-heptamethoxyflavone) were determined as quality indicators, and their contents were significantly affected by the duration of the storage simulation and the aging periods of GCP. Our study also found that temperature and humidity significantly affected the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emission from GCP. Eighteen compounds were proposed to show potential as descriptive measures of aging periods while eight compounds were proposed as potential indicators to discriminate among the spoilage level. Furthermore, the bioaccessibility of hesperidin ranged from ~30% to ~50% and was not significantly affected by the GCP's aging time nor the consumer's sex (<i>p</i> < 0.05). This study presents evidence for the future control of the quality of GCP and its digestive performance in males and females.