Evaluation of bitter compounds in Zanthoxylum schinifolium Sieb. et Zucc. by instrumental and sensory analyses

As a common food seasoning in China, Zanthoxylum schinifolium Sieb. et Zucc. is desired by consumers for its special aroma; however, its bitter taste has a negative economic impact on the food industry. In this study, untargeted metabolomics was used to perform full-coverage detection of metabolites in Z. schinifolium Sieb. et Zucc. A total of 53 potential bitter metabolites were screened. Additionally, key bitter compounds were concentrated using sensory-guided fractionation technique and subsequently characterized by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS, and a total of 13 bitter compounds were obtained. Then, dose over threshold values (DOT) of these 13 compounds were calculated, showing that 11 compounds significantly contribute to the bitterness of Z. schinifolium Sieb. et Zucc., with quercetin, isorhamnetin and kaempferol have particularly low thresholds and high contents. This study is the first to comprehensively define the bitter substances in Z. schinifolium Sieb. et Zucc., providing a reliable theoretical basis for future research on bitterness mechanisms.