Decoding the medicinal aromatic characteristic of Zhuyeqing and gaining new insight into sotolon

Zhuyeqing is made from Fenjiu base liquor infused with extracts from 12 Chinese herbs. Its medicinal aroma is a unique feature of Zhuyeqing. However, this particular characteristic has not yet been thoroughly studied. Utilizing a normal phase liquid chromatography-sensomics-integrated strategy, we sequentially identified 110 potential odorants in the fraction with characteristic medicinal aroma via GC × GC-TOF MS, then these compounds were narrowed down to 25 sensorially active compounds through GC-O validation. Quantitative analysis identified 10 odorants with odor activity values (OAVs) ≥ 1. Omission experiments indicated that eugenol, sotolon, trans-isoeugenol, guaiacol, anisaldehyde, and acetoin were the key aroma compounds affecting the medicinal characteristic. Innovatively, we revealed the enantioselective distribution patterns of sotolon in Zhuyeqing and elucidated its dynamic evolution correlated with medicinal aroma attenuation. This study establishes the first molecular-level scientific framework for quality modulation of Zhuyeqing, bridging theoretical insights with practical applications.