A comprehensive analysis of aroma quality and perception mechanism in ginger-infused stewed beef using instrumental analysis, sensory evaluation and molecular docking

The ginger-infused stewed beef exhibited a satisfactory odor in Chinese cooking meat. This study aimed to reveal its aroma quality and perception mechanism through electronic nose, sensory evaluation and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) coupled with chemometric methods and molecular docking. Sensory evaluation and electronic nose analysis indicated ginger could greatly modify aroma profile of beef. Most C6-C10 aldehydes significantly decreased and terpenes increased in ginger-infused stewed beef. Orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) found 7 key markers for distinguishing stewed beef with or without ginger. Ginger additions could reduce fatty acids consumption. Moreover, the key contributors of fatty, bloody, meaty, ginger and mint aroma attributes, namely (E)-2-octenal, 1-octen-3-ol, 2-acetylthiazole, zingiberene and γ-elemene, respectively, selected by partial least squares regression (PLSR) analysis were docked with the olfactory receptor. Hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions were the main interaction forces between olfactory receptor and the five compounds.