title: Metabolomics analysis of shucked mussels' freshness.
abstract: In this work a NMR metabolomics approach was applied to analyze changes in the metabolic profile of the bivalve mollusk Mytilus galloprovincialis upon storage at 0°C and 4°C for 10 and 6 days, respectively. The most significant microbial groups involved in spoilage of mussels were also investigated. The time-related metabolic signature of mussels was analysed by Orthogonal Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA) which revealed a clear discrimination between the fresh samples and those stored at 0°C and 4°C. The results evidenced a noticeable increase in acetate, lactate, succinate, alanine, branched chain amino acids, trimethylamine and a progressive decline of osmolytes like betaine, homarine and taurine during storage. Exploration of the correlations of these metabolites with microbial counts suggested their use as potential biomarkers of spoilage. The results support the use of NMR metabolomics as a valuable tool to provide information on seafood freshness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Cagliari, S.S. 554 Bivio Sestu, 09042 Monserrato, Italy.
authors.forename: Violetta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Aru
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari, S.S. 554 Bivio Sestu, 09042 Monserrato, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Barbara
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Pisano
authors.affiliation: Quality & Technology, Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 26, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark; Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT), Polytechnic University of Turin - Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino (TO), Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Savorani
authors.affiliation: Quality & Technology, Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 26, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Søren Balling
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Engelsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari, S.S. 554 Bivio Sestu, 09042 Monserrato, Italy.
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cosentino
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Cagliari, S.S. 554 Bivio Sestu, 09042 Monserrato, Italy. Electronic address: flaminia@unica.it.
authors.forename: Flaminia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cesare Marincola
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005519:Food Preservation; D063427:Food Quality; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods*; D049878:Mytilus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: (1)H NMR; Biomarkers; Metabolomics; Microbiology; Mussels; Spoilage