Untargeted metabolomics, GC-MS and intelligent sensory analysis reveal wine-thermal induced alterations in chemical, sensory and metabolic bioactivities of Curculigo rhizome.

Curculigo rhizome (CR) a phenolic acid-rich plant, is widely utilized as a raw material for health products, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparations, and as a flavoring agent in the food industry. In the present study, a comprehensive multi-technique approach combining UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS, GC-MS, intelligent sensory technology (electronic nose and electronic tongue), and metabolic analysis was employed to investigate the effects of yellow rice wine processing on the chemical composition, bioactive metabolic properties, and sensory characteristics of CR. Wine-processed Curculigo rhizome (WCR) exhibited significantly decreased L* and b* values alongside reduced sweetness, whereas the a* value and total color difference (Eab*) markedly increased compared to raw Curculigo rhizome (RCR). Notably, enhanced sensory responses to nitrogen-containing compounds, particularly amines, were observed following wine processing. Metabolic assessments across bacterial, cellular, and mouse models demonstrated improved bioactivity in WCR. Non-targeted metabolomics analysis identified 84 compounds in total, with 15 differential metabolites (VIP > 1, fold change ≥ 1, P < 0.05) discriminating RCR and WCR. Post-processing reductions were observed for orcinol, palmitic acid, and oleic acid, while orcinol glucoside (SAK), orcinol gentiobioside (ANA), and curculigoside B showed elevated levels. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that downregulated compounds were negatively correlated with a* values, bioactivity-related metabolic parameters, and electronic nose sensors (EN1-EN18) as well as electronic tongue sensors (ET1, ET4, ET7, ET10, ET13); conversely, upregulated compounds displayed positive correlations with these indices. These findings elucidate the critical role of yellow rice wine processing in modulating the sensory attributes, bioactivity profile, and chemical composition of CR, thereby providing scientific foundations for establishing standardized processing protocols and offering practical guidance for industrial-scale production.