Volatile flavor compounds of some sea fish and prawn species

KEY WORDS: aroma, fish, prawn, solid phase micro extraction, volatile flavor compounds.The aroma/flavor of fish is an important criterion for consumers' preference.The state of freshness or the quality of fish and prawn can apparently be determined by the consumer on the basis of its flavor.The desirable aroma and flavor of fish or any food influences consumers' choice.The components contributing to the flavor of fish have been the subject of many investigations for a long period of time.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] However, species-wide data for volatile flavor components of fish are not available, despite the long traditional history of eating fish in many nations of the world.The purpose of the present study was to examine the volatile flavor components of fish and prawn species of Japan.Among the large numbers of fish species of Japan, the six widely eaten species and two species of prawn were bought from a fish shop in Nara City.Experimental material (fish muscle, skin or prawn muscle; 5 g) was weighed in a 20 mL vial (Perkin Elmer, Shelton, CT, USA) and sealed with a Teflonlined rubber septum to make the vial airtight.This vial containing the fish sample was heated at 70∞C for 30 min to allow the fish volatiles to evaporate from the fish sample.The needle of the solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) fiber holder (Spelco, Bellefonte, PA, USA) was pierced through the septum and the fish volatiles were absorbed to SPME-fused silica fiber for 5 min.We selected Carboxen-polydimethylsiloxane fiber (Spelco) for