Quality changes of Huajiao seed oil during refining: A combined approach using traditional methods and multi-omics...

This study systematically investigated the evolution of Huajiao seed oil quality across four refining stages (crude oil, degummed oil, deacidified/deodorized oil, and decolorized oil) using conventional physicochemical analyses integrated with multi-omics approaches. The results demonstrate that refining progressively improved oil quality by significantly reducing the acid value (37.31 to 0.85 mg/g), peroxide value (0.33 to 0.09 g/100 g), glycerophospholipid content (1.76 to 0.11 mg/g), and volatile component content (176.63 to 13.07 μg/g), while enhancing color lightness (7.46 to 70.04). The lipidomic results indicate that the degumming process primarily removed phosphatidylglycerol. Metabolomic analysis revealed that refining resulted in significant loss of fatty acyl glycosides, amino acids, carbonyl compounds, and sesquiterpenoids, whereas fatty alcohols and linoleic acids exhibited better retention. This comprehensive approach elucidated the stage-specific effects of refining on Huajiao seed oil quality and provided a scientific basis for developing precision refining strategies for Huajiao seed oils.