Using lipidomics to reveal the changes in lipid composition during soymilk processing

Soybeans are rich in lipids, but the changes in lipids during soymilk processing are not fully understood. In the present study, the changes in different lipid fractions during soymilk processing were detected by nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, and the changes in lipid profiles were monitored using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry. The results demonstrated that soaking decreased the contents of phospholipids (PL), along with the increases of PL hydrolysis products, whereas cooking decreased the contents of neutral lipids (NL), along with the increases of NL hydrolysis products. Subsequently, the lipidomic profiles confirmed that soaking could increase the abundances of most of triglyceride molecules, while cooking could decrease them; both soaking and cooking could decrease the abundances of most of PL molecules. This finding provides useful insight into lipid changes and the control of beany odor generation during soymilk processing.