1H NMR and multivariate data analysis of the relationship between the age and quality of duck meat

•The small molecule metabolites of duck meat were systematically studied by NMR.•Flavour composition and metabolic differences associated with age were examined.•The relationship of meat quality with duck age was explained.

To contribute to a better understanding of the factors affecting meat quality, we investigated the influence of age on the chemical composition of duck meat. Aging probably affects the quality of meat through changes in metabolism. Therefore, we studied the metabolic composition of duck meat using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Comprehensive multivariate data analysis showed significant differences between extracts from ducks that had been aged for four different time periods. Although lactate and anserine increased with age, fumarate, betaine, taurine, inosine and alkyl-substituted free amino acids decreased. These results contribute to a better understanding of changes in duck meat metabolism as meat ages, which could be used to help assess the quality of duck meat as a food.