Abstract: The objective of the present study was to compare the composition of volatile flavor compounds in Chinese mitten crab meat and crab spawn. Odorants of 750 g of steamed crabmeat were extracted by simultaneous distillation-extraction (SDE) and then analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 97 volatile compounds were identified and quantified in Chinese mitten crab. Of these, 67 and 60 compounds were found in crab spawn and meat, respectively and only 30 volatiles were detected in both of them. Crab spawn and meat differed mostly in alcohols, alkanes, aromatic compounds and sulfur-containing compounds, which might be the main cause of flavor difference between them. Furthermore, 30 common components generally exhibited higher contents in crab spawn than in crab meat.

Key words: Chinese mitten crab, simultaneous distillation-extraction (SDE), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), volatile flavor components