The Metabolic Network of Chilled Yak Meat During Storage Was Constructed Based on Metabolomics Technology

Chilled yak meat is becoming more and more popular with the improvement in living standards, and the flavor of chilled meat is closely related to storage time. The effect of storage time on the flavor of chilled yak meat was explored in this study. We used GC-MS, HS-GC-IMS, and LC-MS/MS to detect changes in the metabolites in yak meat during storage at 4 °C and constructed storage time-dependent metabolite fingerprints of the yak meat. The results showed that low-temperature storage promoted the degradation of proteins and lipids, nucleotide release, and the production of the volatile compounds heptanal, octanal, n-nonanal, benzaldehyde, 2,3-pentanedione, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, and 2-butanone. With an increase in the chilled storage time of yak meat, the total volatile basic nitrogen and total viable count of the meat were significantly increased. The short-term storage time of yak meat at 4 °C should not exceed 5 days.