Abstract: Purpose: To study the effects of different treatment methods (enzymatic hydrolysis, high pressure cooking and flash extraction) on the release of flavor substances from Grifola frondosa. Methods: Soluble sugar, organic acid, free amino acid composition and molecular mass distribution were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. The flavor characteristics of the edible mushroom were analyzed using an electronic tongue. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used for statistical analysis of the products prepared by different extraction methods. Results: The total amount of soluble sugar in the aqueous extract of Grifola frondosa (untreated control) was significantly decreased by all treatments (P < 0.05), especially high-pressure cooking after flash extraction. On the contrary, the total amount of organic acids was significantly increased by enzymatic hydrolysis and high pressure cooking (P < 0.05) and was increased by flash extraction pretreatment for both the control and treatment groups. The total amount of amino acids was increased by sequential two-step enzymatic hydrolysis but was decreased by high-pressure cooking. The amounts of umami, sweet and bitter amino acids were increased significantly by sequential enzymatic hydrolysis (P < 0.05) and the resulting hydrolysate was dominated by peptides smaller than 3 000 Da. The content of these peptides was decreased by flash extraction pretreatment, which indicates that flash extraction is unfavorable for the retention of free amino acids. PCA analysis showed that the taste and taste substances were significantly different from the control after enzymatic hydrolysis and high-pressure cooking, and also changed significantly after flash extraction. Conclusion: The taste characteristics of Grifola frondosa are closely related to its specific taste substances and efficient preparation of taste substances depends on the treatment method used. Therefore, this study provides a theoretical basis for the development of Grifola frondosa seasonings and the preparation of taste peptides.

Key words: Grifola frondosa, taste substances, enzymatic hydrolysis, flash extraction, high-pressure cooking