Abstract: This research aimed to examine the development of lipid oxidation and the flavor deterioration of dried salted eel under household storage conditions. The changes in peroxide value (POV), thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value, fatty acid composition and flavor composition were determined during four months of storage at 1–7?℃ (simulated domestic refrigerator) and the correlation between fatty acids and flavor compounds was analyzed. The results revealed that lipid oxidation was aggravated with prolonged storage time. POV and TBA both increased at first and then decreased, which peaked after 2 and 3 months of storage, respectively. The contents of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and monounstaturated fatty acids (MUFA) showed an overall upward trend, whereas the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) significantly dropped (P < 0.05). Over the whole storage period, the content of aldehydes exhibited a decrease after an increase while the reserve trend was observed for the contents of hydrocarbonsand alcohols. Moreover, the content of ketones progressively rose. A certain correlation was observed between fatty acids (oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, arachidonic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid) and volatiles (hexaldehyde, heptyl aldehyde, octyl aldehyde, nonanal, 1-pentene-3-alcohol, and 1-octene-3-alcohol).

Key words: dried salted eel; storage period; fatty acid; volatiles