Study on the differences in flavor adsorption ability of sea cucumber each part based on HS-SPME-GC-MS

Flavor modification of ready-to-eat sea cucumbers during the seasoning process has received increasing attention. Currently, limited research has been conducted regarding the variances in flavor adsorption ability among different parts of sea cucumber. In this study, water was used as a medium to synergistically convey the Chinese prickly ash characteristic volatiles to migrate into sea cucumber for the preparation of seasoned sea cucumber. The types and concentrations of the characteristic volatiles in the skin layer, muscle layer and tendon layer of the sea cucumbers under the optimal soaking conditions were analyzed based on headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS). The key active volatiles in each sea cucumber sample include: 2-nonanol, myrcene, beta-phellandrene, terpinen-4-ol, alpha-terpineol, piperitone, cineole, and linalool. The results of heat map and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) indicate that the skin layer of sea cucumber demonstrated the strongest adsorption ability to the characteristic volatiles, while the tendon layer showed the weakest adsorption ability. There was a significant difference in the flavor profiles between control sea cucumber and seasoned sea cucumber. (Z)-3-decen-1-ol, 2,4-dimethyl styrene, linalool, d-limonene, and cineole were the key difference volatiles among the seasoned sea cucumber parts. This study through studying the differences in the ability of different parts of sea cucumber in adsorption Chinese prickly ash characteristic volatiles can better explore the gastronomic value of ready-to-eat sea cucumber, leading to the development of a wider range of sea cucumber delicacies, and offer valuable references in fields like sea cucumber processing and product development.