Abstract:

In this study, the volatile compounds in three different post-ripening fermented Pixian broad-bean sauces were
analyzed with an electronic nose and headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled to gas chromatographymass
spectrometry (GC-MS). Differences were observed by applying principal component analysis (PCA) to electronic nose
data sets. The three samples showed apparent groupings and the best combination of sensors was S1S4S7S10. A total of 44
volatile components were identified by HS-SPME-GC-MS. Nineteen volatile compounds were common to the three samples
mainly including 4-ethyl-2-methoxy-phenol, phenylethyl alcohol, 2-ethyl-phenol, benzaldehyde, benzeneacetaldehyde,
2-hydroxy-methyl benzoic acid ester, 1-heptanol, and the one, two, three-year post-ripening fermented samples were
identified to contain 36, 30, and 28 volatile compounds which accounted for 81.8%, 68.2%, and 63.6% of the total volatile
compounds, respectively. Sensory analysis showed that the 1-year post-ripening fermented sample was different in color,
aroma, and other aspects from the 2 and 3-year fermented samples, which, however, were not obviously different as a whole.

Key words: Pixian broad-bean sauce, post-ripening fermentation, electronic nose, headspace solid-phase microextractiongas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS), volatile compounds