Impact of inoculating Staphylococcus xylosus CICC21445 and Staphylococcus vitulinus CICC10850 on lipid metabolism and flavor development in dry-cured duck.

The metabolic activity of microorganisms can influence the characteristics of dry-cured meat. This study aimed to investigate the impact of single or combined inoculation of Staphylococcus vitulinus CICC10850 and Staphylococcus xylosus CICC21445 on the quality of dry-cured duck. The results showed that co-inoculation significantly inhibited the lipid oxidation of dry-cured duck compared to single inoculation S. vitulinus CICC10850 or S. xylosus CICC21445, and the viable cell counts of Staphylococcus were higher (8.3 ± 0.04 log CFU/g, on the 7th day). Co-inoculation significantly increased the activities of neutral lipase (1.68 ± 0.12 U/g) and phospholipase (1.78 ± 0.10 U/g) on the 7th day. The contents of 12 free fatty acids in the dry-cured duck were significantly altered, with notable changes in the levels of C16:0, C18:0, and C18:6n9c. 43 flavor compounds were detected, and the aldehydic flavor compounds were significantly influenced by Staphylococcus inoculation. Compared to the control, co-inoculation led to significant changes in the contents of 333 non-volatile metabolites, 150 of which were lipid-related. KEGG analysis identified 11 differented metabolic pathways, primarily involving amino acid and lipid metabolism. Furthermore, the human-machine interaction evaluation demonstrated that the co-inoculation of S. xylosus CICC21445 and S. vitulinus CICC10850 significantly enhanced the sensory attributes of dry-cured ducks. [Display omitted] • FFA production and lipase activity are affected by S. xylosus and S. vitulinus. • 43 flavor substances were found, of which 12 were differential flavor substances. • Inoculation with Staphylococcus improves the sensory quality of dry-cured ducks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]