Abstract: To determine its nutritional and flavor quality, plain mayonnaise was analyzed for nutrient composition by conventional analysis method and for volatile components, headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Based on their sensory threshold and relative odor activity values the contribution of the volatile flavor components to the overall flavor was evaluated. The results showed that the moisture, ash, crude protein and crude fat content of plain mayonnaise were 17.70%, 1.77%, 2.67% and 76.26%, respectively; it contained abundant essential amino acid (accounting for 34.58% of the total amino acids) with an essential amino acid index of 0.77, indicating that the mayonnaise is a valuable food protein source. The most prominent fatty acid in plain mayonnaise was oleic acid, which was rich in unsaturated fatty acids. The umami amino acids were mainly glutamic acid and aspartic acid, accounting for 63.94% of the total amino acids. The most abundant mineral element was Na (7.56 mg/g). A total of 35 volatiles were detected in the mayonnaise. The key flavor components identified included acetic acid, benzeneacetaldehyde, nonanal, undecanal, tetradecanal, ethyl acetate, and isobutyl isothiocyanate.

Key words: plain mayonnaise, nutritional components, solid phase microextraction, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, key flavor components