A combined study based on electronic tongue and untargeted metabolomics to reveal taste and metabolite profiles of different varieties wampee (Clausena lansium)

Wampee is a fruit with a long history of consumption and medicinal value. In this study, four groups of wampee sample from the same nursery were analyzed for systematic analysis of tastes and metabolites using electronic tongue, UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS and GC-TOF-MS. Through principal component analysis, correlation analysis, OPLS-DA, analysis of variance, and clustered heat map analysis, we performed a comprehensive discrimination of flavors and metabolites of wampees, and performed metabolic pathway KEGG enrichment analysis for differential metabolites. The results showed that there were significant differences in tastes, metabolites, and metabolic pathways among different groups of wampees, and 20 biomarkers could distinguish the groups. A6, A9, and A10 are potentially refreshing and purely sweet varieties. These findings provide metabolic profiling support for a full understanding of the wampee, and provide basic support for wampee species tracing, species selection, and specialty food development.