Characterization of Aroma Composition of <scp><i>Amomum tsaoko</i></scp> During the Drying Process Based on <scp>GC–MS</scp>

<i>Amomum tsaoko</i> is an important spice and medicinal plant widely utilized in East and Southeast Asia. Non-targeted metabolomics techniques were employed to study the variations in the content and composition of essential oil from <i>A. tsaoko</i> during drying at different temperatures: 40°C, 50°C, 60°C, and 70°C. A total of 260 metabolites were detected using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), mainly terpenoids and aldehydes. Cineole, the most important component, accumulated abundantly in samples dried at 50°C. A higher temperature (70°C) was conducive to the accumulation of aldehydes. Overall, the optimal drying condition for <i>A. tsaoko</i> was determined to be 50°C for 50 h. In addition, nine differential metabolites were screened using variable important in projection and <i>p</i> value (VIP > 1 and <i>p</i> < 0.05), which may serve as potential flavor markers to differentiate various drying treatments of <i>A. tsaoko</i>. This study provides a novel perspective on understanding the dynamic metabolites changes during the drying process, and establishes a theoretical foundation for the refinement and high-quality processing of <i>A. tsaoko</i>.