{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T05:19:40Z","timestamp":1790140780848,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,22]],"date-time":"2026-06-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782086400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Open Project of Key Laboratory for Deep Processing of Major Grain and Oil, Ministry of Education","award":["DZLY2023005"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DZLY2023005"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100008960","name":"Wuhan Polytechnic University","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["2025RZ010"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025RZ010"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100008960","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["2025RZ010"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025RZ010"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05w0e5j23","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>While Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. (Z. bungeanum) pericarps are a globally prized spice, their leaves are frequently discarded as agricultural waste. This study systematically characterizes the aromatic potential of leaf by-products compared with traditional pericarps under diverse extraction strategies, utilizing an integrated flavoromics and sensomics approach. Qualitative GC-MS-O analysis revealed that leaf-derived fractions possess superior aromatic diversity: leaf essential oil and volatile solvent extract yielded 71 and 68 odorants, respectively, significantly surpassing pericarp counterparts (65 and 43 compounds). Concurrently, HS-GC-IMS profiling confirmed that targeted extraction allows leaf-derived flavors to replicate and exceed traditional spice complexity. Specifically, the leaf solvent extract achieved aromatic parity with pericarps by effectively mirroring the core spicy\u2013citrus profile through cuminaldehyde and limonene retention. Conversely, distilled leaf essential oil unlocked a distinctive herbal\u2013woody sensory innovation, driven by eucalyptol and a broader variety of aldehydes and ketones. Sensomics validation, incorporating aroma recombination, omission experiments, and partial least-squares regression modeling, conclusively identified \u03b2-myrcene, limonene, caryophyllene, and humulene as core molecular markers dictating these perceptual shifts. Ultimately, this research provides a robust theoretical foundation for upcycling Z. bungeanum leaves into valuable flavoring resources, facilitating circular bio-economy practices by delivering functional equivalence and entirely novel sensory experiences for the global food industry.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods15122243","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]],"date-time":"2026-06-23T08:19:52Z","timestamp":1782202792000},"page":"2243","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Valorization of Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. Leaf By-Products: Comparative Aroma Profiling with Pericarps Across Extraction Strategies"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Zongyuan","family":"Wu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food Science and Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Key Laboratory for Deep Processing of Major Grain and Oil, Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory for Processing and Transformation of Agricultural Products, Wuhan 430048, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chenxi","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food Science and Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Key Laboratory for Deep Processing of Major Grain and Oil, Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory for Processing and Transformation of Agricultural Products, Wuhan 430048, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yunlong","family":"Xiao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shenzhen Boton Flavors & Fragrances Co., Ltd., Shenzhen 518055, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yinhao","family":"Xue","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food Science and Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Key Laboratory for Deep Processing of Major Grain and Oil, Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory for Processing and Transformation of Agricultural Products, Wuhan 430048, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rongrong","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food Science and Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Key Laboratory for Deep Processing of Major Grain and Oil, Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory for Processing and Transformation of Agricultural Products, Wuhan 430048, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shouan","family":"Ming","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hubei Mingchuang Agricultural Technology Development, Co., Ltd., Huanggang 438400, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yanxia","family":"Cong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food Science and Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Key Laboratory for Deep Processing of Major Grain and Oil, Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory for Processing and Transformation of Agricultural Products, Wuhan 430048, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8649-3245","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Weinong","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food Science and Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Key Laboratory for Deep Processing of Major Grain and Oil, Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory for Processing and Transformation of Agricultural Products, Wuhan 430048, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"119047","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lwt.2026.119047","article-title":"Fabrication and sustained release behavior of Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. essential oil Pickering emulsion stabilized by chayote tuber starch-zein composite nanoparticles","volume":"241","author":"Zhao","year":"2026","journal-title":"LWT"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"114674","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lwt.2023.114674","article-title":"Effects of drying methods on the quality of Hanyuan Zanthoxylum bungeanum based on physicochemical and functional metabolite analysis","volume":"180","author":"Zhao","year":"2023","journal-title":"LWT"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6044","DOI":"10.1021\/jf4007856","article-title":"Chemical Composition and Antibacterial Activity of the Essential Oil from Green Huajiao (Zanthoxylum schinifolium) against Selected Foodborne Pathogens","volume":"61","author":"Diao","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. 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