Influence of curing on the metabolite profile of water-boiled salted duck

To clarify the influence of the traditional curing method on metabolites and the relationship between nonvolatile metabolites and volatile substances. Untargeted metabolomics based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) and gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) were used to analyze the metabolites and volatile compounds in cured and noncured duck meat. A total of 973 non-volatile metabolites and 57 volatile compounds were identified. Lipids and lipid-like molecules and organic acids and derivatives accounted for 71.27% of all of the metabolites. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that 173 nonvolatile metabolites and most of the volatile compounds were significantly affected. Curing affected the contents of the individual amino acids, peptides, and analogs, but the total content showed no significant difference. Curing has a significant impact on lipid degradation. Partial least squares regression showed 78 differential metabolites related to volatile compounds, including 31 positive correlations and 47 negative correlations. The production of volatile compounds is related to a variety of nonmetabolites.