Key Points
- Researchers at the Beijing Technology and Business University identified 113 aroma components via gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) and 34 via gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS), with aldehydes and trimethylamine being the most abundant compounds respectively. Their analysis revealed significant aroma profile differences across broths made from different duck parts.
- Broths made from the back, leg, and wing had stronger aroma profiles, while those from the head, neck, and breast had weaker ones. Cluster analysis grouped the head broth separately, indicating its distinct volatile profile.
- Seven differential marker compounds with high odor activity values (OAV ≥ 1) were pinpointed—including hexanal, octanal, nonanal, (E)-2-nonenal, ethyl isovalerate, dimethyl sulfide, and trimethylamine—offering potential for future enhancement of duck product flavor consistency in industrial settings.
Researchers at the Beijing Technology and Business University (China) set out to characterize the differences of the aroma profiles among duck broth (DB) made from different parts of duck meat using quantitative descriptive analysis, as well as the volatile compounds of DB made from seven parts of duck meat. The research was conducted using headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) and gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS). A paper based on their work was published in Food Chemistry X (1).
In recent years, there has been a notable shift in global meat consumption, with poultry meat becoming the dominant form, and duck meat, a commercially important poultry worldwide, playing a significant role in the category (2,3). China, with 4.218 billion ducks slaughtered in 2023 is the world's largest producer and consumer of duck meat; the total output value of meat ducks in 2023 was 126.369 billion yuan (approximately $17.66 billion US dollars) (4–6).
While there have been previous studies conducted to characterize the aroma of duck meat products, these studies focused primarily on the impact of processing techniques or examine specific processed products. The Beijing Technology and Business University team, believing that the decoding of the volatile compounds and aroma characteristics variances from different parts of duck meat may provide more precise references in develop processing methods with better flavor of duck meat products, conducted research to confirm their theory (1).
The researchers were able to identify a total of 113 and 34 aroma components using GC-MS and GC-IMS, respectively. Based on the results of GC-MS, aldehydes were the most abundant, accounting for 46.99% ∼ 54.97%, followed by alcohols and ketones. Based on the results of GC-IMS, trimethylamine (75.75%∼80.00 %) was the most abundant, followed by aldehydes (15.16%∼18.76%). Significant variances were observed among the different DB samples and contents of aroma compounds. The broth produced from the back, leg, and wing parts showed strong aroma profiles, while DB produced from the head, neck, and breast showed the weaker notes. Hierarchical cluster analysis elucidated that the seven samples were divided into two main categories. The head broth was grouped into one group, and the rest samples were grouped into another group (DBs of the back, breast, wing, tail, neck, and leg). Thirty aroma compounds with odor activity values (OAVs) ≥ 1 were identified in the DB samples. Based on a combination of partial least squares regression (PLSR), OAV analysis, and relative content, hexanal, octanal, nonanal, (E)-2-nonenal, ethyl isovalerate, dimethyl sulfide, and trimethylamine were identified as key differential marker compounds among the seven DB samples (1).
In the future, the researchers believe that the stability of the detection instrument arrays can be further optimized to make the quantification of these key marker compounds fast and reliable, facilitating their practical application in a commercial setting. The application could improve the flavor stability of duck meat products (1).
References
- Cao, B.; Pu, D.; Sun, B. et al. Characterization of the Aroma Variances of Duck Broth from Different Part by HS-SPME-GC-MS, HS-GC-IMS and Sensory Evaluation. Food Chem. X 2025, 29, 102789. DOI: 10.1016/j.fochx.2025.102789
- Chen, X.; Luo, J.; Lou, A. et al. Duck Breast Muscle Proteins, Free Fatty Acids and Volatile Compounds as Affected by Curing Methods. Food Chem.2021, 338, 128138, DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.128138
- Li, C.; Al-Dalali, S.; Wang, Z. et al. Investigation of Volatile Flavor Compounds and Characterization of Aroma-Active Compounds of Water-Boiled Salted Duck Using GC-MS-O, GC-IMS, and E-nose. Food Chem.2022, 386, 132728. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.132728
- Hou, S. S.; Z.L. Liu, Z. L. State of the Waterfowl Industry, Future Trends and Outlook 2022. Chin. J. Anim. Sci.2023, 59 (03), 274-280. DOI: 10.19556/j.0258-7033.20240202-11
- Report on Market Depth Analysis and Development Trend Prediction of China's Meat Duck Industry from 2024 to 2030. Huajing Industry Research Institute. 2024. https://www.huaon.com/channel/jingpin/agri/958997.html
- Wise website. https://wise.com/us/currency-converter/cny-to-usd-rate (accessed 2025-07-24)
