Abstract: Oxidized chicken fat was prepared based on controlled oxidization. After the optimal reaction temperature and time were selected, meaty flavor products were obtained by thermal reaction between cysteine and oxidized chicken fat and analyzed by solid-phase micro-extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Through retention index alignment with the NIST08 library, 42 flavor compounds including sulfur compounds, pyridines, aliphic aldehydes, ketones, alcohols and furans were identified in the reaction products. Using 1,2-dichloro-benzene as the standard, 2-pentylfuran was qualified as the most abundant, followed by 2-pentylpyridine, nonanal, 5-methyl-2(5H)-thiophenone and 2-pentyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one. Compared with the controls (oxidized chicken fat with or without cysteine), cysteine degradation and fat oxidation in the oxidized chicken fat with cysteine were both inhibited; whereas, new heterocyclic flavor compounds such as 2-pentylpyridine and 2-pentylthiophene resulting from the Maillard reaction were achieved to reveal the desired meaty flavor.

Key words: oxidized chicken fat, cysteine, meaty flavor, solid-phase micro-extraction(SPME), formation mechanism, 2-pentylpyridine, 2-pentylthiophene