Analysis of volatile compounds and flavor fingerprint in hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus) during air-drying using headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS)

Yueqin Liao; Yixuan Ding; Yingru Wu; Qi Du; Jiangyue Xia; Junqi Jia; Huimin Lin; Soottawat Benjakul; Bin Zhang; Yi Hu

doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.1088128

Analysis of volatile compounds and flavor fingerprint in hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus) during air-drying using headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS)

Front Nutr. 2023 Jan 11:9:1088128. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.1088128. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Yueqin Liao¹, Yixuan Ding¹, Yingru Wu¹, Qi Du¹, Jiangyue Xia¹, Junqi Jia¹, Huimin Lin^{1

2}, Soottawat Benjakul³, Bin Zhang^{1

2}, Yi Hu¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Health Risk Factors for Seafood of Zhejiang Province, College of Food Science and Pharmacy, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, China.
² Pisa Marine Graduate School, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, China.
³ Faculty of Agro-Industry, International Center of Excellence in Seafood Science and Innovation, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand.

Abstract

In the present study, changes in volatile compounds during processing were analyzed using the headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS), to investigate the generation of aroma in hairtails (Trichiurus lepturus) during air-drying. Physicochemical indices, such as moisture content and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), were also detected. Flavor fingerprints were studied and developed to distinguish the samples of fresh hairtails (0 day) from air-dried hairtails (2 and 4 days). A total of 75 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were identified in hairtails, in which alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and esters were the principal contributors to the formation of the overall flavor of hairtails during air-drying. Seven flavor compounds (ethanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 1-pentanol, hexanal, octanal, benzaldehyde, and 3-methylbutanal), two flavor compounds (acetoin and dimethyl sulfide), and eight flavor compounds (1-hexanol, 1-octen-3-ol, nonanal, heptanal, 2-heptanone, ethyl acetate, trimethylamine, and ammonia) were identified in 0, 2, and 4 air-dried hairtails as biomarkers, respectively. The results showed that HS-GC-IMS could detect VOCs in different air-dried hairtails rapidly and comprehensively.

Keywords: HS-GC-IMS; air-drying; fingerprint; hairtail; volatile flavors.

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the Zhejiang Leading Training Program (Grant No. 2020R52027) and the Fundamental Research Funds of Zhejiang Province (2021JD005).