Unravelling the correlations between predominant microbiota with physicochemical properties and volatile compounds in sauce-braised duck wings during cold storage

Abstract

The current study was aimed to investigate the correlation between predominant microorganisms and quality development of sauce-braised duck wings (SDWs) during cold storage. Four predominant phyla and 19 dominant genera of bacteria were identified in SDWs. The pH, a∗ value, springiness, cohesiveness and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) were significantly correlated with the microbial community. There were 156 volatile compounds in SDWs, with 1-octen-3-ol, linalool, 1-nonanol, hexanal, nonanal, ethyl hexanoate, eugenol and octanal emerging as the principal key volatile compounds. Notably, Lactobacillus, Alcaligenes and Phyllobacterium demonstrated significant correlations with these key volatile compounds. To further explore the correlations between predominant microbiota and the quality development of SDWs, a strain of L. curvatus was isolated and intentionally re-inoculated into fresh SDWs. The results showed a marked acceleration in the deterioration of SDWs quality, indicating L. curvatus' role in spoilage during storage. These findings may shed light on the complex interactions between microbial communities with volatile compounds and physicochemical properties.