Dynamic flavor perception in sturgeon caviar during oral processing revealed by volatile release, neural responses, and phospholipid changes.

Dynamic flavor perception in sturgeon caviar during oral processing was investigated using temporal dominance of sensations (TDS), electroencephalography (EEG), GC-IMS, GC-MS, and untargeted lipidomics. TDS showed that caviar flavor gradually shifted from salty/marine fresh to buttery/nutty, with a transition around 9 s. Along with this sensory transition, volatile compound (VOC) release showed stage-dependent changes. Hexanal and nonanal dominated the early stage, whereas 2,3-butanedione and ethyl acetate gradually increased later. EEG responses mainly involved frontal and temporal regions, with marked δ- and β-band changes. Untargeted lipidomics identified 790 lipids, with differential lipids mainly belonging to phospholipids (PLs). During oral processing, C22:6-containing phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) decreased markedly, which was further verified in the saliva. Spearman correlation analysis showed that PE was significantly negatively correlated with short-chain VOC concentrations. This work provides a comprehensive exploration of caviar oral flavor perception and offers new insight into oral flavor formation in foods.