Author(s)

Yoichi Sato^1,2*, Satomi Takagi³, Eri Inomata³, Yukio Agatsuma³

¹Bio-Resources Business Development Division, Riken Food Co., Ltd., Miyauchi, Tagajyo, Miyagi, Japan.
²Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science, RIKEN, Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama, Japan.
³Laboratory of Marine Plant Ecology, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, Aoba, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.

Background and Aims: Mesocentrotus nudus is commercially harvested from shallow rocky bottoms in northern Japan. The gonads are targeted as an edible product. The objective of this study was to identify odor-active volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the gonads of adult M. nudus collected at a fishing ground in Miyagi Prefecture, Tohoku, Japan. Methods and Results: Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis and gas chromatography-sniffing techniques identified 42 compounds categorized as alcohols, aldehydes, aromatic hydrocarbons, esters, halomethanes, hydrocarbons, ketones, sulfur-containing compounds, and nitrogen-containing compounds. GC-sniffing analysis characterized four compounds with preferable odors of sea urchin gonads; limonene, propyl acetate, acetone, dibromochloromethane. On the other hand, the analysis characterized three compounds with unpreferable odors; methyl mercaptane, dimethyl sulfide, and s-methyl thioacetate. Several VOCs from the gonads were derived from seaweeds, terrestrial plants, and fish flesh as food because M. nudus is omnivorous. Conclusion: This is the first study to identify VOCs from edible sea urchin gonads in the wild in Japan. These VOC data comprise a typical standard in order to evaluate a higher quality of sea urchin gonads.

Sea Urchin, Mesocentrotus nudus, Gonad Flavor, GC/MS, Sniffing Analysis

Sato, Y. , Takagi, S. , Inomata, E. and Agatsuma, Y. (2019) Odor-Active Volatile Compounds from the Gonads of the Sea Urchin Mesocentrotus nudus in the Wild in Miyagi Prefecture, Tohoku, Japan. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 10, 860-875. doi: 10.4236/fns.2019.107062.