Insight into the mechanism on texture change of Wuchang bream muscle during live transportation using a UPLC-QTOF-MS based metabolomics method

Mechanism on texture change of Wuchang bream (Megalobrama amblycephala) muscle during live transportation was explored by UPLC-QTOF-MS. The shear force (hardness) of fish muscle decreased gradually as the transportation time was extended from 3 to 24 h, with a maximum decrease of 43.49 %. With the extension of the time, the cellular and ultrastructure of fish muscle fiber were gradually disrupted. There was a significant difference between metabolites of the samples after transporting for 6, 12, 24 h versus 3 h, with organic acids and their derivatives upregulated while nucleotide metabolites downregulated. The texture deterioration might be related to metabolism of amino acids, purine, histidine, and choline. The results showed that the deterioration of Wuchang bream texture during live transportation might be mainly related to the changes of the above metabolic pathways caused by oxidative stress, which resulting in the destruction of the muscle cells and fibers.