Determination of volatile compounds in turbot (Psetta maxima) during refrigerated storage by headspace solid‐phase microextraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

BACKGROUND: A procedure based on headspace solid phase microextraction (HS‐SPME) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) was developed for the study of the volatile profile characteristics of turbot during refrigerated storage at 4°C for 20 days in order to find possible markers of freshness or spoilage. RESULTS: A total of 61 volatile compounds including aldehydes, ketones, esters, alcohols, alkenes, alkanes, aromatics, amines and others were identified in turbot muscle extracted by the optimised HS‐SPME method. The volatile profile characteristics of turbot at different storage periods were specified by principal component analysis (PCA). The concentrations of hexanal, heptanal, (2E,4E)‐heptadienal, acetophenone, 2‐undecanone and 1‐octen‐3‐ol decreased during storage, whereas benzene acetaldehyde, 6‐methyl‐5‐hepten‐2‐one, 2‐nonanone, acetic acid butyl ester, 3‐methyl‐1‐butanol and trimethylamine increased. CONCLUSION: SPME‐GC‐MS combined with PCA may be a useful method for monitoring the volatile profile characteristics of turbot during storage, which could be potentially used for freshness evaluation. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry