A study on the dynamic changes and relationships of volatile and semi-volatile compounds in flaxseed during the roasting procedure by using untargeted GC–MS combined with advanced chemometrics

Abstract

Roasting flaxseed is an important stage in producing rich aromas. At present, characterizing the dynamically changed compounds is difficult. Here, a novel untargeted strategy for accurately and comprehensively analyzing volatile compounds such as flavors and semi-volatile compounds such as sugars and amino acids was provided, which is accomplished by integrating gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) with our newly developed automatic data analysis software AntDAS-GCMS. Samples at different roasting stages were collected, with the online released volatile compounds and inherent semi-volatile compounds analyzed simultaneously. Raw GC–MS data files were imported into AntDAS-GCMS to automatically perform compound resolution, registration, and identification. Finally, 53 volatile compounds and 83 semi-volatile compounds were screened and identified, whose dynamic variations during roasting were revealed. The relationship between semi-volatile and volatile compounds was studied in detail. The developed strategy provided a new solution for dynamic quality control during roasting.