Untargeted Profiling and Differentiation of Volatiles in Varieties of Meat Using GC Orbitrap MS

Abstract

Volatile compounds play vital roles in food sensory attributes and food quality. An analysis of volatile compounds could illustrate the sensory attributes at the microscale level. Here, untargeted profiling approaches for volatiles in five most-consumed meat species were established using headspace SPME-GC/high resolution Orbitrap MS. An extended high-resolution database of meat volatile compounds was established to enhance the qualification accuracy. Using sulfur-containing compounds, aldehydes, and ketones as the research model, the parameters including fiber coating types, extraction temperature, extraction time, and desorbing time were optimized. Principle component analysis, volcano analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis were applied to run the classification and the selection of discriminant markers between meat varieties, respectively. Different varieties could be largely distinguished according to the volatiles’ profiles. 1-Octen-3-ol, 1-octen-3-one, 2-pentyl furan and some other furans degraded from n-6 fatty acids would contribute to distinguishing duck meat from other categories, while methyl esters mainly from oleic acid as well as dimethyl sulfoxide and carbon disulfide possibly produced from the sulfur-containing amino acids contributed to the discrimination of beef. Therefore, volatiles’ profiling not only could interpret the aroma style in meat but also could be another promising method for meat differentiation and authentication.

A Ratiometric Fluorescent Sensor Based on Silicon Quantum Dots and Silver Nanoclusters for Beef Freshness Monitoring

“…During beef spoilage, volatile sulfides, including hydrogen sulfide, mercaptans, and thioethers, are generated due to the decomposition of proteins [ 7 ]. Hence, these sulfides have been regarded as one of the important compounds to evaluate beef freshness.…”

Volatile fingerprints of beef cooking methods using sol–gel‐based solid‐phase microextraction (SPME) and direct analysis in real‐time mass spectrometry (DART‐MS)

“…Meat flavour, influenced by both pre‐slaughter factors, including feed, breed and age, 2 and post‐mortem factors, such as ageing, curing and storage, 3 are key determinants of consumer acceptability. Volatile constituents of the meat aroma profile are a complex mixture of alcohols, esters, organic acids, ketones, aldehydes, furans, pyrazines, hydrocarbons and sulphur‐based compounds, 4 resulting from major biochemical reactions such as the Maillard reaction, Strecker degradation, lipid oxidation and vitamin, carbohydrate and nucleotide degradation and their corresponding reaction products 5 . The ultimate outcome of this interplay of flavour‐related compounds is a range of olfactory, gustatory and trigeminal sensations during tasting 5 .…”

“…5,6 Rapid assessment of the volatile profile is critical to improvising and standardising cooking methods, preferably during and/or immediately after cooking. Many methods for the measurement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) exist, for example, electronic and bionic sensors, [7][8][9] including the conventional solid-phase microextraction (SPME)-based head-space analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), 4,[10][11][12] and contemporary ambient atmospheric MS techniques. [13][14][15] An appraisal of the pros and cons of these techniques is not within the ambit of this study, although in essence, ambient atmospheric techniques offer greater convenience (nil/minimal sample pre-treatment) and speed at (near) real time compared to conventional techniques.…”