Effects of accelerated foxtail millet storage on porridge volatiles: An integrated multi-omics study

This study examined how accelerated storage of foxtail millet (Jinmiao K1) affected oxidation, Maillard-related chemistry and volatile compounds in porridge prepared from the stored millet. Foxtail millet was stored at 50 °C and 60% relative humidity for 8 weeks and subsequently cooked into porridge. During storage, malondialdehyde levels in raw millet ranged from 0.5669 ± 0.0086 to 0.6288 ± 0.0161 mg/kg, while protein carbonyls increased from 22.7902 ± 0.4700 to 24.0141 ± 0.2327 nmol/mg Pro. Lipidomic and metabolomic profiling further revealed changes in oxidized fatty acids, phospholipids, sugars, amino acids and organic acids. These changes were accompanied by variations in volatile compounds, including 2-pentylfuran, nonanal, decanal, acetophenone, 3-methylbutanal and hexanoic acid. Correlation analyses associated these volatiles with lipid and metabolite features, suggesting roles of lipid oxidation and Maillard chemistry in volatile changes during storage and cooking. Overall, these results depicted integrated chemical changes in porridge from accelerated-stored foxtail millet.