Potential of 2D qNMR spectroscopy for distinguishing chicken breeds based on the metabolic differences

•Metabolome of chicken breast was cross-validated using different 2D NMR spectra.•2D NMR identified more metabolites than 1D NMR by removing peak overlaps.•Combined 1D and 2D qNMR provide accurate quantification of metabolites.•2D qNMR-based multivariable analyses distinguished different chicken breeds. Two-dimensional quantitative NMR spectroscopy (2D qNMR) was set up and multivariate analyses were performed on metabolites obtained from breast meat extracts of broilers and four native chicken (KNC) strains. It can accurately identify more metabolites than 1D 1H NMR via separation of peak overlap by dimensional expansion with good linearity, but has a problem of numerical quantification; Complementation of 1D and 2D qNMR is necessary. Among breeds, KNC-D had higher amounts of free amino acids, sugars, and bioactive compounds than others. Noticeable differences between KNCs and broilers were observed; KNCs contained higher amounts of inosine 5′-monophosphate, α-glucose, anserine, and lactic acid, and lower amounts of free amino acids and their derivatives. The 2D qNMR combined with multivariate analyses distinguished the breast meat of KNCs from broilers but showed similarities among KNCs. Also, 2D qNMR may provide fast metabolomics information compared to conventional analysis.