Assessment of flavor characteristics in snakehead (Ophiocephalus argus Cantor) surimi gels affected by atmospheric cold plasma treatment using GC-IMS

Jia-Bao Huang; Xian-Wang Kong; Ying-Yun Chen; Jing Chen

doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.1086426

Assessment of flavor characteristics in snakehead (Ophiocephalus argus Cantor) surimi gels affected by atmospheric cold plasma treatment using GC-IMS

Front Nutr. 2023 Jan 11:9:1086426. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.1086426. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jia-Bao Huang¹, Xian-Wang Kong², Ying-Yun Chen¹, Jing Chen^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ College of Food and Pharmacy, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, China.
² School of Petrochemical Engineering & Environment, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Health Risk Factors for Seafood of Zhejiang Province, Zhoushan, China.

Abstract

The gel formation ability of freshwater surimi is weak, resulting in its poor flavor and quality. Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP), a widely developed non-thermal processing technology in the food industry, is considered to have potential applications in maintaining and improving the flavor characteristics of surimi gels. In this study, the effect of ACP on snakehead surimi gels flavor at different treatment times was investigated by sensory evaluation and gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) analysis. The results showed that ACP could better maintain and improve the original appearance and tissue state characteristics of surimi gels, scoring about 1-2 points higher than the ACP-untreated group. GC-IMS analysis demonstrated the obvious difference in the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) among the treatment groups. Specifically, the samples treated for 120 s with ACP exhibited the most unique aroma characteristics, which probably related to the highest thiobarbituric acid reactive substances values (73.28 μmol MDA/kg sample). Meanwhile, the reduced TCA-soluble peptides content indicated that ACP could inhibit protein degradation to maintaining the tissue state and flavor characteristics of the surimi gels. In conclusion, the advantages of ACP treatment, such as little damage to nutrients, and maximum retention of original sensory properties, provide new ideas for its application in the flavor characteristics of the snakehead surimi gels.

Keywords: atmospheric cold plasma; flavor characteristics; gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS); snakehead; surimi gels.

Grants and funding

This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (31901764), Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LY17C200010), and the Key R&D Program of Zhejiang Province, China (2019C02075).