Tentative Identification of Volatile Flavor Compounds in Commercial Budu, a Malaysian Fish Sauce, Using GC-MS

Abstract

<em>Budu</em> is a famous Malaysian fish sauce, usually used as seasoning and condiment in cooking. <em>Budu</em> is produced by mixing fish and salt at certain ratio followed by fermentation for six months in closed tanks. In this study, four commercial brands of <em>Budu</em> were analyzed for their chemical properties (pH, salt content and volatile compounds). The pH of <em>Budu</em> samples ranged from 4.50–4.92, while the salt (NaCl) content ranged between 11.80% and 22.50% (w/v). For tentative identification of volatile flavor compounds in <em>Budu</em>, two GC columns have been used, DB-WAX and HP-5MS. A total of 44 volatile compounds have been detected and 16 were common for both columns. 3-Methyl-1-butanol, 2-methylbutanal, 3-methylbutanal, dimethyl disulfide, 3-(methylthio)-propanal, 3-methylbutanoic acid and benzaldehye have been identified as the aroma-active compounds in <em>Budu</em> due to their lower threshold values.

Keywords

• &lt;em&gt;Budu&lt;/em&gt;
• fish sauce
• flavors
• aroma
• volatile compounds