Establishing the relations of characteristic aroma precursors and volatile compounds for authenticating Tibetan pork

  • Laiyu Zhao
  • , Sara Erasmus
  • , Ping Yang
  • , Feng Huang
  • , Chunhui Zhang
  • , Saskia van Ruth

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Tibetan pork has been favored for its unique aromas, which originate from chemical reactions between characteristic precursors in cooking. The precursors (e.g., fatty acids, free amino acids, reducing sugars, and thiamine) of Tibetan pork ((semi-) free range) from different regions in China, comprising Tibet, Sichuan, Qinghai, and Yunnan, and commercial pork (indoor reared) were compared in this study. Tibetan pork was characterized by higher ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (i.e., C18:3n3), higher essential (i.e., valine, leucine, and isoleucine), aromatic (i.e., phenylalanine), and sulfur-containing (i.e., methionine and cysteine) free amino acids, higher thiamine, and lower reducing sugars. Boiled Tibetan pork exhibited higher heptanal, 4-heptenal, and 4-pentylbenzaldehyde compared with commercial pork. The results from multivariate statistical analysis revealed that precursors combined with volatiles exhibited discriminating capability for characterizing Tibetan pork. The precursors in Tibetan pork exerted a certain effect on characteristic aroma generation, probably arising from promoting chemical reactions in cooking.

Original languageEnglish
Article number136717
JournalFood Chemistry
Volume427
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Nov 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Aroma
  • Discriminant analysis
  • Free amino acids
  • Pork meat
  • ω-3 PUFAs

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