Evaluation of aroma characteristics in snakehead fish(Channa argus)during steaming using an HS-GC-IMS and E-nose
Headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry(HS-GC-IMS),electronic nose(E-nose)and sensory analysis techniques were used to analyze the aroma characteristics of pickled snakehead fish during steaming.The volatile compounds of steamed snakehead fish were identified by GC-IMS.The results showed that 43 volatile compounds were identified,among which aldehydes and al-cohols had the high content and contributed to the overall flavor of steamed snakehead fish.The low threshold of aldehydes played a major role in the flavor of steamed snakehead fish,and the highest content reached 33.92%when the steaming time was 12 min.Next were ke-tones and esters.Significant differences were revealed in the GC-IMS,E-nose and sensory analysis results of the aroma characteristics of snakehead fish steamed at different time.Furthermore,the flavor of pickled snakehead fish was the best when it was steamed for 12 min.In addition,butanal,2-methylpropanal,(E)-2-pentenal,butanol,2-methylbutanol,2-butanone,2,5-dimethylpyrazine and tetrahydrofu-ran were the characteristic flavor substances at 12 min.The results of this study may provide some theoretical basis for determining the ap-propriate steaming time for snakehead fish.