Gastrodia elata Blume (G. elata) is a traditional medicinal and edible plant whose quality is significantly influenced by post-harvest processing. To obtain an optimal post-harvest processing method for G. elata, this study employed sensory evaluation, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS), and non-targeted metabolomics, in conjunction with an in vitro digestion model, to assess the impact of different processing and drying methods on the quality of G. elata. The findings showed that the steam treatment followed by heat pump drying resulted in the highest levels of total phenols, total flavonoids, and polysaccharides in G. elata, and caused more pronounced damage to its microstructure. This treatment also maintained the highest antioxidant activities and optimal acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition capacity throughout in vitro digestion, meanwhile, effectively eliminating the unpleasant odor and achieving the highest sensory scores. Furthermore, non-targeted metabolomic analysis revealed noteworthy alterations in the metabolite profile of G. elata, mainly related to purine metabolism and the biosynthesis of amino acids pathways. This study provides valuable insights into the post-harvest processing of G. elata.

中文翻译：

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整合挥发性和非挥发性代谢物谱，以及体外消化揭示了不同制备方法对天麻物理化学和生物学特性的差异


天麻 Blume （G. elata） 是一种传统的药用和食用植物，其质量受收获后加工的显着影响。为了获得 G. elata 的最佳收获后加工方法，本研究采用感官评价、扫描电子显微镜 （SEM）、气相色谱-离子迁移谱 （GC-IMS） 和非靶向代谢组学，结合体外消化模型，评估不同加工和干燥方法对 G. elata 品质的影响。结果表明，蒸汽处理后热泵干燥导致 G. elata 的总酚、总黄酮和多糖含量最高，对其微观结构的破坏更为明显。该处理还在整个体外消化过程中保持了最高的抗氧化活性和最佳的乙酰胆碱酯酶 （AChE） 抑制能力，同时有效消除了难闻的气味并获得了最高的感官评分。此外，非靶向代谢组学分析显示 G. elata 代谢物谱的显着改变，主要与嘌呤代谢和氨基酸途径的生物合成有关。本研究为 G. elata 的收获后加工提供了有价值的见解。