A Chemical Guide to Bolete Flavor

Researchers combined mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, and data modeling to identify differences in mushroom flavor

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Researchers analyzed 82 fruiting bodies from five edible bolete species collected in southwest China, preparing 30 combined samples with six biological replicates per species.
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The analyses identified 68 amino acids and related metabolites, 57 organic acids, and 773 volatile compounds, with chemical profiles that distinguished the five species.
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Glycine, arginine, aspartic acid, lysine, and fumaric acid helped distinguish taste profiles, and sweet and umami amino acids contributed most.
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Six volatile compounds were proposed as aroma markers, while predicted interactions with odor receptor OR1A1 were not confirmed by human perception studies.
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An infrared spectroscopy and machine-learning model predicted selected flavor-compound concentrations with coefficients of determination of at least 0.95, but sample and site limitations may affect th

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