A Data-Driven Approach to Link GC-MS and LC-MS with Sensory Attributes of Chicken Bouillon with Added Yeast-Derived Flavor Products in a Combined Prediction Model

In total, 261 volatiles were detected using GC-MS, from chemical groups of predominantly aldehydes, esters, pyrazines and ketones. Random Forest (RF) modeling revealed volatiles associated with roast odor (2-ethyl-5-methyl pyrazine, 2,3,5-trimethyl-6-isopentyl pyrazine) and chicken odor (2,4-nonadienal, 2,4-decadienal, 2-acetyl furan), which could be predicted by our combined model with R² > 0.5. In total, 2305 non-volatiles were detected for RPLC-MS and 34 for targeted HILIC-MS, where fructose-isoleucine and cyclo-leucine-proline were found to correlate with roast flavor and odor. Furthermore, a list of metabolites (glutamate, monophosphates, methionyl-leucine) was linked to umami-related flavor. This study describes a straightforward data-driven approach for studying foods with added YPs to identify flavor-impacting correlations between molecular composition and sensory perception. It also highlights limitations and preconditions for good prediction models. Overall, this study emphasizes a matrix-based approach for the prediction of food taste, which can be used to analyze foods for targeted flavor design or quality control.