Unlocking the unique impact of yellow meat lipids on the flavor profile of sturgeon surimi gel

Abstract

Lipids play a crucial role in both the creation and transport of volatile compounds (VCs) in surimi products. This study explored how the unique lipid of sturgeon yellow meat influences the flavor profile of sturgeon surimi gels, distinguishing them from traditional freshwater surimi, such as silver carp. The electronic nose revealed significant differences between the VCs of yellow meat surimi gel (YS) and white meat surimi gel (WS). Gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry analysis detected 30 VCs, with 10 significantly up-regulated and three down-regulated in YS compared to WS. Sensory evaluation identified eight flavor descriptors: oily/fatty, earthy, grassy, unpleasant fishy, meaty, cheesy/milky, sweet, and fresh. YS was found to contribute primarily to undesirable oily/fatty, unpleasant fishy, and earthy notes, while simultaneously enhancing the more desirable cheesy/milky and sweet flavors. Unlike silver carp surimi, which is often characterized by pronounced earthy, grassy, and metallic flavors, sturgeon surimi gels were free from metallic flavors. Partial least squares regression analysis revealed that specific compounds such as 4-methyl-2-pentanone and 3-methylbutanal were strongly associated with key flavor attributes like oily/fatty and cheesy/milky, further distinguishing sturgeon surimi from traditional surimi products. This study highlights the distinctive flavor potential of sturgeon surimi, offering new opportunities for surimi product innovation.

Keywords

Sturgeon surimi / Volatile compounds / Flavor attributes / Endogenous lipids

Ethical statements

This research was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki as part of it involved conducting sensory evaluation with human subjects. The protocol was approved by the China Agricultural University Laboratory Animal Welfare and Animal Experimental Ethical Committee (AW03504202-4-3). Informed consent was provided either orally (for those who could not write) or by signing a consent form before conducting the interview. The study investigators made sure that individuals who were invited to participate in the research study were given an adequate description of the study that was clear and complete enough for the individual to judge whether they wanted to participate.

Author contributions

The authors confirm contribution to the paper as follows: conceptualization: Tong L, Tan Y; visualization: Tong L, Zhou Y; formal analysis, investigation: Zhou Y; writing-original draft: Tong L; writingreview and editing: Dou P, Zheng Y, Zhang Y, Hong H, Luo Y; Tan Y; funding acquisition: Luo Y, Tan Y. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Beijing Innovation Consortium of Agriculture Research System (No. BAIC07-2024-13), and Beijing Natural Science Foudation (No. 6222027).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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