{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T21:11:25Z","timestamp":1789420285238,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,5]],"date-time":"2026-03-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772668800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004826","name":"Natural Science Foundation of Beijing Municipality","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["6222057"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["6222057"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004826","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund","award":["MFSJKF2024-10"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MFSJKF2024-10"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Royal jelly, a nutrient-rich bee product characterized by high water content and active components, is particularly susceptible to quality deterioration during storage. While temperature effects have been extensively documented, the specific role of light exposure in quality degradation remains largely unexplored. despite its relevance during production, handling, transportation, and display. This study systematically investigated the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of royal jelly under different storage conditions using gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) combined with fingerprint analysis. Results from dual-column validation demonstrated that even short-term light exposure at 25 \u00b0C induced pronounced alterations in VOC profiles, triggering the accumulation of off-flavor aldehydes (e.g., hexanal, nonanal) and ketones, along with 2-furfural generated via Maillard reaction. Concurrently, characteristic fresh-aroma esters and alcohols were significantly depleted. Multivariate statistical analysis confirmed light exposure as the predominant factor driving quality deterioration, with temperature variation under dark conditions producing comparatively minor effects within the same short timeframe. This work provides the first systematic evidence establishing insights into early volatile changes in royal jelly and identifies key VOC markers that offer valuable insights for optimizing storage strategies and developing rapid quality monitoring protocols.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules31050866","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,5]],"date-time":"2026-03-05T13:11:22Z","timestamp":1772716282000},"page":"866","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Light Exposure Predominantly Drives Volatile Profile Changes in Royal Jelly During Short-Term Storage as Revealed by GC-IMS"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"31","author":[{"given":"Jing","family":"Sun","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Innovation Center of Pesticide Research, College of Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apiculture Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yu","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apiculture Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China"},{"name":"College of Biochemical Engineering, Beijing Union University, Beijing 100101, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hao","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"GC-IMS Application Lab, Shandong Hanon Scientific Instruments Co., Ltd., Beijing 100085, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7840-2785","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rui","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apiculture Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lin","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apiculture Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fengmao","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Innovation Center of Pesticide Research, College of Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaofeng","family":"Xue","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apiculture Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"1161","article-title":"Effects of different storage conditions on quality of royal jelly from three pollen sources","volume":"35","author":"Xiao","year":"2023","journal-title":"Acta Agr. 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