Metabolites comparison in post-fermentation stage of manual (mechanized) Chinese Huangjiu (yellow rice wine) based on GC–MS metabolomics

[Display omitted] •The differential metabolites of manual (mechanized) Huangjiu were determined during post-fermentation stage.•The metabolic pathways associated with the differential metabolites were identified.•The contribution of different metabolites to the flavor of Huangjiu was analyzed. In order to understand the differences of metabolites and their key metabolic pathways between traditional manual and mechanized Huangjiu, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) combined with non targeted metabolomics was used to track and monitor Huangjiu in the whole post-fermentation stage. The results showed that 25 metabolites and 14 metabolites were identified as differential metabolites in manual and mechanized Huangjiu, respectively (VIP > 1, P 1, impact > 0.01). Compared with the two kinds of Huangjiu, 21 kinds of metabolites were identified as differential metabolites (VIP > 1, P 1, impact > 0.01). This study is helpful to gain insight into the underlying mechanism of flavor formation during the post-fermentation process of Huangjiu and provide a theoretical basis for the industrial development.