Abstract: To understand the effect of inoculated fermentation on the improving the flavor of low-salt air-dried chicken, the impacts of Dabaryomyces hansenii (DH), Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (LP), and their combination (1:1, DL) on the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) content, fatty acids, free amino acids, and volatile flavor substances of air-dried chicken with 0.25% and 1% salt were evaluated. The results showed that compared with the uninoculated control group, all inoculated fermentation groups significantly inhibited fat oxidation in low-salt air-dried chicken (P < 0.05). Inoculation with DH and DL significantly increased the contents of unsaturated fatty acids and total free amino acids in air-dried chicken with 1% salt (P < 0.05). A total of 47 and 43 volatile flavor compounds were detected in air-dried chicken with 0.25% and 1% salt, respectively, and the formation of undesirable flavor compounds such as hexanal, 2-methylbutyraldehyde and 3-methylbutyraldehyde was inhibited in all inoculated fermentation groups with 1% salt. Correlation analysis showed that there was a significant correlation between the contents of fatty acids and free amino acids and the contents of key volatile flavor compounds (P < 0.05), indicating that inoculated fermentation could improve the overall flavor of the products by affecting the flavor precursors.

Key words: low salt; air-dried chicken; inoculated fermentation; volatile flavor substances