Characterization of odor components of Pixian Douban (broad bean paste) by aroma extract dilute analysis and odor activity values

Hongbin Lin,Yan Liu,Qiang He,Ping Liu,Zhengming Che,Xuemei Wang,Jiaquan Huang

doi:10.1080/10942912.2019.1636816

Hongbin Lin, Yan Liu + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1080/10942912.2019.1636816

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Abstract

ABSTRACT The odor-active compounds of Pixian Douban (PXDB) were identified by means of gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS), and then the key odor components were figured out by odor activity values (OAVs) and aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) using three different methods. The 21 odor active areas were detected with flavor dilution (FD) factor ranging from 2 to 16, with 3-(methylthio) propionaldehyde, 2, 5-dimethyl pyrazine, 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, and 2-ethylphenol yielding the highest FD factors. These odorants were then quantitated by application of external standard under selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode of MS, and their OAVs were calculated based on the odor thresholds. The highest OAV was obtained for 3-methylbutanal (malty, 614.89), followed by phenylacetaldehyde (honey-like, sweet, 94.34), four compounds obtained OAVs ≥10, and other eight compounds obtained OAVs between 1 and 10. All of them likely contributed to the aroma of PXDB. A reconstitution model containing 14 odorants (OAVs ≥1& FD>5) was able to mimic the aroma style of the original PXDB. In addition, the application of omission test was used to investigate the effects of the key odor compounds on the whole odor profile of PXDB, and 11 odorants detected were significantly different among the samples.

Highlights

East Asians have been good at making bean pastes since ancient times and have benefited from the unique flavor and health functions of these pastes.[1]
To identify the most important aroma-active compounds in Pixian Douban (PXDB), three aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) methods were used in this research, and the flavor dilution (FD) value of each AEDA dilution method was represented by the uniform number 1–6[22]
The four compounds did not contribute to the overall aroma of soy sauce. These results strongly suggested that their contribution of the overall flavor of PXDB is somewhat limited

Summary

Introduction

East Asians have been good at making bean pastes since ancient times and have benefited from the unique flavor and health functions of these pastes.[1] Different cultures and climates, people’s tastes, and production methods make different bean pastes unique in style and characteristics.[2,3] Pixian broad bean paste, called Pixian Douban (PXDB), is a famous Chinese condiment, named after the town of Pixian in southwest China’s Szechuan province. The Pidu District, located in a basin with a subtropical humid climate, provides good climate, humidity, sunlight and water quality for the fermentation of PXDB. PXDB is a spicy and salty fermented paste produced from blanched broad bean, red chili pepper, salt, and Aspergillus oryzae. It is widely used as a key ingredient in Szechuan cuisines, and often referred to as the “soul of Szechuan cuisine”

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