Odor-Active Volatile Compounds from the Gonads of the Sea Urchin <i>Mesocentrotus nudus</i> in the Wild in Miyagi Prefecture, Tohoku, Japan

Abstract

Background and Aims: Mesocentrotus nudus is commercially harvested from shallow rocky bottoms in northern Japan. The gonads are targeted as an edible product. The objective of this study was to identify odor-active volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the gonads of adult M. nudus collected at a fishing ground in Miyagi Prefecture, Tohoku, Japan. Methods and Results: Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis and gas chromatography-sniffing techniques identified 42 compounds categorized as alcohols, aldehydes, aromatic hydrocarbons, esters, halomethanes, hydrocarbons, ketones, sulfur-containing compounds, and nitrogen-containing compounds. GC-sniffing analysis characterized four compounds with preferable odors of sea urchin gonads; limonene, propyl acetate, acetone, dibromochloromethane. On the other hand, the analysis characterized three compounds with unpreferable odors; methyl mercaptane, dimethyl sulfide, and s-methyl thioacetate. Several VOCs from the gonads were derived from seaweeds, terrestrial plants, and fish flesh as food because M. nudus is omnivorous. Conclusion: This is the first study to identify VOCs from edible sea urchin gonads in the wild in Japan. These VOC data comprise a typical standard in order to evaluate a higher quality of sea urchin gonads.

Odor-active compounds from the gonads of Mesocentrotus nudus sea urchins fed Saccharina japonica kelp

“…Typical total ion chromatograms of the VOCs from sea urchin gonads of each group are shown in Fig 1. The VOCs we detected are shown in Table 1 and compared to those reported by Sato et al [18]. A total of 48 VOCs were detected in the gonads of CSU (48), ESU (48) and BSU (46).…”

“…When a VOC was detected in triplicate analysis, this determined the presence of the VOC in the group. The VOCs detected in the present study were compared to those of Sato et al [18]. The relative amounts of each VOC detected by GC-sniffing analysis were calculated based on the peak areas in the chromatograms.…”

“…Three containers were prepared for each group (n = 3). Headspace sampling, GC-MS analysis and GC-sniffing analysis were conducted according to Sato et al [18] within 48 hours after dissection. Takagi et al [8] showed no significant differences in test diameter among these sea urchins (CSU, ESU and BSU), and almost the gonads were in the growing stage.…”

“…Flavor is an important factor in the sensory quality of sea urchin gonads [10,14]. Some components associated with the flavor differ among sea urchin species [15][16][17][18]. In Evechinus chloroticus, flavor and the associated volatile compounds in gonads vary between the north and south of New Zealand [15,16].…”

“…In Evechinus chloroticus, flavor and the associated volatile compounds in gonads vary between the north and south of New Zealand [15,16]. To date, the odor-active volatile compounds in the gonads of E. chloroticus [15,16], Paracentrotus lividus [17] and Mesocentrotus nudus [18] have been identified. Some of them were inferred to be associated with sea urchin aroma [17,18], but the compounds with the "sea urchin-like" aroma have still not been determined.…”