Abstract: The volatile composition of traditional fermented flour paste was analyzed by simultaneous distillation extraction (SDE) and gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The volatile compounds separated from traditional fermented flour paste were identified by comparing their retention indices with those of reference compounds. Their relative contents were determined by peak area normalization method and their contents in traditional fermented flour paste were measured by internal standard method. A total of 113 compounds were identified accounting for 95.368% of the total peak area. Their total content in traditional fermented flour paste was 263.049 μg/g. These compounds included 10 aldehydes (11.862 μg/g), 25 esters (6.955 μg/g), 20 acids (140.596 μg/g), 14 hydrocarbons (1.934 μg/g), 9 alcohols (5.666 μg/g), 19 heterocycles (53.938 μg/g), 7 ketones (1.406 μg/g) and 9 other compounds (40.692 μg/g).

Key words: traditional fermented wheat paste, volatile compounds, simultaneous distillation extraction, gas chromatography and mass spectrometry