Effects of quercetin and cinnamaldehyde on the nutrient release from beef into soup during stewing process

The effects of quercetin and cinnamaldehyde, two popular dietary phytochemicals from vegetables and spices on the general nutrient content and whole chemical profile of beef soup during stewing were investigated by routine chemical analysis and an UPLC-MS/MS based untargeted metabolomics analysis. It was found that quercetin decreased the content of total sugar and methionine, and increased solid matters, unsaturated fatty acids and zinc content in beef soup. Cinnamaldehyde decreased total sugar, aspartic acid and zinc content, but increased total fatty acids in beef soup. Metabolomics results showed that a total of 204 metabolites were assigned to putative molecular classes. 12 metabolite species were summarized based on the chemical structure using HMDB. Cinnamaldehyde decreased the content of most of the molecule species in beef soup while quercetin did not have significant effect. In general, cinnamaldehyde decreased the nutritional value of beef soup, thus spices rich in cinnamaldehyde may not be suitable used for preparing meat soup due to its negative effect on nutrient contents in beef soup. This work could help to fully understand the effects of quercetin and cinnamaldehyde on the nutritional value of beef soup.