Meat flavor of Macrobrachium nipponense processing by gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry, electronic nose and metabolomics is changed by dietary ferulic acid

This study investigated the effects of dietary ferulic acid (FA) on muscle flavor in Macrobrachium nipponense using electronic nose (E-nose), gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS), non-targeted metabolomics, and quantitative analysis of free amino acids and nucleotides. E-nose revealed significant alterations in key odor components (inorganic sulfur compounds, nitrogenous substances, short-chain alkanes and oxygenated volatiles). GC-IMS identified 32 volatiles, with FA supplementation driving a dynamic compositional shift: 23 compounds decreased while 8 increased. FA enhanced umami-associated metabolites—aspartic acid, glutamic acid, inosine monophosphate, and guanosine monophosphate, but suppressed bitter amino acids (isoleucine, leucine). Metabolomics further indicated accumulation of flavor intermediates (phenylglyoxal, guanosine). Pathway analysis indicates that the biosynthesis of alkaloids derived from ornithine, lysine, and nicotinic acid indirectly contributes to the regulation of muscle flavor by influencing amino acid metabolism. These results demonstrated that dietary FA mediates muscle flavor by reconstituting aroma profiles, volatile composition, and amino acid/nucleotide metabolism in M. nipponense . • Ferulic acid significantly enhanced the umami and sweet tastes in muscle while reducing bitterness. • Ferulic acid significantly enhanced muscle flavor via amino/nucleotide metabolism.