Abstract:

The volatile flavor compounds of Zizhong Dongjian (dry cured fermented leaf mustard in Zizhong, Sichuan
province) fermented for 1, 2, 3 or 4 yeatrs were extracted by headspace solid phase micro extraction (HS-SPME) method
and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 147 compounds divided into 9 categories
were identified in four Dongjian samples, among which 11 components were predominant including palmitic acid ethyl
ester, octanoic acid ethyl ester, heptadecane and beta-ionone. Over 4 years of fermentation, the types of major volatile
flavor components and their relative contents revealed significant differences. On the 1st year fermentation, hydrocarbons
were the most abundant compounds, while esters instead of hydrocarbons became main components on the 2nd to 4th year
fermentation. On the 4th year fermentation, the relative contents of ketones and sulphur compounds increased dramatically.
Eight components were common to all the four samples, all of which were domniant volatile compounds in Dongjian.
Furthermore, Dongjian samples fermented for different years had different flavors due to their varying volatile composition.

Key words: Dongjian, volatile flavor compounds, headspace-solid phase micro extraction (HS-SPME), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)