Characteristics of changes in volatile organic compounds and microbial communities during the storage of pickles

The variations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and microbial communities of three pickles during storage at 4 degrees C for one week were analyzed by headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS), high-throughput sequencing, and Spearman correlation analysis. A total of 50 VOCs were identified from three pickles. During storage, most alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and esters decreased, while acids increased, and sulfides, alkenes, and phenols were relatively equal. Firmicutes, Cyanobacteria, and Proteobacteria were the pre-dominant bacterial phyla, and Weissella, Streptophyta, Leuconostoc, Bacillariophyta, and Lactobacillus were the predominant bacterial genera in three pickles. The bacterial diversity level significantly decreased during storage (P < 0.05). Spearman correlation coefficient indicated that Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, and Weissella were highly correlated with the flavor of pickles, while Bacillariophyta and Streptophyta were highly correlated with the flavor formation of pickles during storage. These results could contribute to a better understanding of the impact of bacteria in flavor formation during pickle storage.

Automated summary

In this study, the variations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and microbial communities in three pickles during storage were analyzed. The results showed that most alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and esters decreased, while acids increased during storage. The dominant bacterial phyla were Firmicutes, Cyanobacteria, and Proteobacteria, and the dominant bacterial genera were Weissella, Streptophyta, Leuconostoc, Bacillariophyta, and Lactobacillus. Bacterial diversity significantly decreased during storage. Spearman correlation analysis revealed the high correlation of certain bacterial genera with the flavor and flavor formation of pickles during storage.