Investigation on Chemical Composition and Flavor Compounds in Muscle of Hu Sheep

Forty Hu sheep(ten each,at age of 5 months,10 months and 18 months and 4 years old) were used as experiment animals for analysis of chemical composition and flavor compounds.Samples of longissimus muscle and triceps brachii were taken for analysis of chemical compositions.The moisture content was 68.9%~74.2%,ether extract was 4.1%~6.2%,crude protein was 20.3%~24.0%,and crude ash was 1.1%~1.4% in meat of Hu sheep,respectively.The meat protein included all eight essential amino acids and the grades of each essential amino acid were near to or more than 1 compared with the Protein Mode of FAO.There were 70 volatile flavor compounds detected by solid phase micro-extraction(SPME) and gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry(GC-SM) in intramuscular fat of Hu sheep,including 14 acids,7 ketones,9 aldehydes,5 alcohols,10 esters,13 hydrocarbons,and 12 other compounds(furan,pyrazines,pyridines,indole,and other N,S,O-containing compounds).The major volatiles were esters(24.1%~28.3%),hydrocarbons(20.5%~21.2%) and acids(19.0%~20.0%).