Metabolomics: A promising technique for uncovering quality-attribute of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables

Fresh and processed fruits and vegetables (F&V) contain small molecules, which contribute to the nutritional, taste, aroma, color, and safety quality of fresh and processed F&V, carrying potential relevance to human health benefits. Metabolomics involves the comprehensive identification and quantification of metabolites, either individually or in combination. Thus, it is an effective tool for analysis of small molecules in fresh and processed F&V, and the obtained composition information is help to uncovering quality-attribute of fresh and processed F&V. This review aims to introduce the current status and metabolomics application, more specifically, the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS)-based metabolomics in fresh and processed F&V. Metabolomics has improved our understanding of the compositions in fresh and processed F&V at the molecular level, which help to decipher their quality-attribute. Its integration into the whole food system has great potential to improve the stable production of high-quality whole food and high-value ingredients in various industries.