Changes in low-molecular-weight compounds in different parts of yellowtail (Seriola quinqueradiata) muscle under various heating conditions

Abstract

This study investigated changes in low-molecular-weight compound profiles and explore useful markers of the dorsal ordinary muscle (OM) and dark muscle (DM) of yellowtail under different heating conditions using GC-MS-based metabolomics. A total of 54 and 63 low-molecular-weight compounds were detected in the OM and DM, respectively. Hierarchical clustering and heat map analysis of each muscle type categorized the samples into two main clusters based on heating conditions: high-temperature ⁄ short-duration heating, and unheated and low-temperature ⁄ long-time pasteurization. Ribose and fucose were low-molecular-weight compounds that showed significant differences between heating conditions in both muscle types. Our findings suggest that heating conditions affect the low-molecular-weight compound profile for each muscle type in yellowtail, and ribose and fucose may serve as useful markers for assessing the degree of heating in fish muscle.