Abstract:The sensory evaluation, taste activity value (TAV), E-nose and volatile compounds analysis were used to compare the flavor qualities among the hepatopancreas of mud crab from Bohai Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea. The results showed that the sensory score of the hepatopancreas of male and female mud crabs from East China Sea was greater than that of two others. TAV analysis indicated that the sweet and umami tastes of hepatopancreas were better, and Glu (umami), Ala (sweet), and Arg (bitter/sweet) were the predominant free amino acids that contributed to pleasant flavors. Meanwhile, the amino acids contents of sweet and umami tastes in the hepatopancreas of male and female mud crabs from East China Sea were similar to those from Bohai Sea, which were higher than those from South China Sea. The principal component analysis showed that the sum of the first and second principal components of hepatopancreas from three sources of mud crabs was all higher than 90%, and there was a great difference in their flavors. Moreover, volatile compound analysis showed that 41, 45, 46 kinds of volatile flavor compounds in the hepatopancreas of male crabs from three districts were identified, while 45, 40, 43 kind of volatile flavor compounds in the hepatopancreas of female crabs were detected respectively. Aldehydes were the main flavor source of the hepatopancreas of mud crabs. The hepatopancreas of male and female mud crabs from East China Sea containing 1-Decene-3-one and 2-Pentylfuran showed a unique flavor. To sum up, the hepatopancreas of male and female mud crabs from East China Sea displayed relatively better flavor quality.
