International Journal of Food Properties

ISSN: 1094-2912 (Print) 1532-2386 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ljfp20

Volatile, Taste Components, and Sensory

Characteristics of Commercial Brand Oyster
Sauces: Comparisons and Relationships

Trang H.D. Nguyen & Xi Chang Wang

To cite this article: Trang H.D. Nguyen & Xi Chang Wang (2012) Volatile, Taste Components, and
Sensory Characteristics of Commercial Brand Oyster Sauces: Comparisons and Relationships,
International Journal of Food Properties, 15:3, 518-535, DOI: 10.1080/10942912.2010.492542

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/10942912.2010.492542

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International Journal of Food Properties, 15:518–535, 2012
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1094-2912 print / 1532-2386 online
DOI: 10.1080/10942912.2010.492542

VOLATILE, TASTE COMPONENTS, AND SENSORY

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMERCIAL BRAND OYSTER
SAUCES: COMPARISONS AND RELATIONSHIPS

Trang H.D. Nguyen and Xi Chang Wang

College of Food Science and Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Lin Gang
New City, Shanghai, China

The objectives of this study were to compare the volatile compounds, the taste compounds,
and the sensory attributes, and also to determine the relationship between them in four
commercial brand oyster sauces. The volatile compounds were extracted and detected by
headspace-solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The
sensory evaluation was carried out by 11 trained panelists. In addition, free amino acids
and minerals in four samples were quantified and selected as the taste compounds. A total
of 75 volatile compounds were identified with alcohols, furans, aldehydes, and pryrasines
reported as the most dominant chemical classes. Most of the samples showed the clear
sensory groupings with significant differences. Glutamic was the dominant free amino
acid in all samples. Sweet amino acids, including threonine, serine, glycine, and alanine,
corresponded to the high intensities of sweet sensory attributes by the canonical correla-
tion analysis. Phosphate and potassium were believed to contribute the salty taste. Three
sensory attributes (oyster, fishy, and fired pork dour) were highly correlated to alcohols
(1-penten-3-ol), aldehydes (propanal, butanal), and pryrasines, respectively.

Keywords: Oyster sauce, SPME, Sensory attributes, Volatile compounds, Taste.

INTRODUCTION
In China, the Philippines, and Thailand, oyster sauce is commonly used in their cook-
ing cuisine. Recently, there has been an increase in consumption of this product around the
world. In the past, oyster sauces were produced by a traditional method, in which fresh oys-
ters were boiled, seasoned with soy sauce, salt, and other spices, and preserved for a certain
time (Lee Kum Kee homepage). All these ingredients together created this ancient flavor,
but nowadays, the product labeled “oyster sauce” is actually made from oyster extract with
brine; umami flavor enhancers, such as Monosodium Glutamate (MSG); caramel coloring;
and typically contains chemical preservatives (0.1% sodium benzoate) to increase its shelf
life. Oyster sauce now seems to be no longer a conventional food; thus, it has been industri-
ally produced. Although oyster sauces from different countries have special qualities, these

Received 25 December 2009; accepted 7 May 2010.

Address correspondence to Trang H. D. Nguyen, College of Food Science and Technology, Shanghai
Ocean University, 999 Hu Chen Huan Road, Ling Gang New City, Shanghai 201306, China. E-mail: dieu-
trang1983@gmail.com

518
 CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMERCIAL BRAND OYSTER SAUCES 519

products have the same characteristics, such as raw oysters, extracting, and mixing with
other ingredients methods. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that now the oyster sauces are
becoming of high interest for customers in some countries, such as the United Kingdom.
The flavor is one of the important factors in assessing the quality of oyster sauce as a savory
product. The taste components of foods are generally non-volatile, while their aroma con-
stituents are volatile in nature.[1] However, describing the flavor of the product is not an
easy task in sensory evaluation. Every person has a unique sense of taste, smell, and ability,
so it is nearly impossible to interpret and define flavor terms to articulate that experience.[2]
The flavor assessors have used their language and senses to produce the list of sensory
attributes of products that is the result of a consensus between the food sensory perceptions
and their intensities.[3] However, the overlap of sensory attributes has been challenging, but
readily grasped with the assessors if the chemical compounds are provided.[4,5] Since the
1960s, it is possible to identify flavor components that have expanded with the use of gas
chromatography, mass spectrometry, and other methods that allow the isolation, separation,
and identification of the minor components found in foods, herbs, and spices at their con-
centrations as low as parts per billion and below.[2] For an example, aromas of fish sauce
were studied by headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with gas
chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), in which the key categories of volatile fla-
vor compounds were found, including nitrogen-containing compounds, sulfur-containing
compounds, and aldehydes. The same methodology was also applied to investigate the
aroma in boiled prawns and scallops.[6,35] SPME was used to extract the flavor substances
of the uncooked or cooked oyster and GC-MS was used to analyze the flavor substances.[7]
Moreover, the aroma profile of many traditional products, such as blue type cheeses,
Reggianito cheeses, red wine, biscuits, kefir, etc., were detected by SPME coupled with
GC-MS.[8–10,39]
Nevertheless, a frequently asked question about flavor analysis in food quality
control is “Can an instrument provide enough information?” In general, instrumental
analysis is a most relevant issue for inline quality control measurements because of
its advantages, such as faster and simpler than sensory evaluation with humans, but
not exclusively. That is the reason why the relationship between sensory attributes and
volatile or non-volatile compounds represents a challenge.[4] Due to the above state-
ments, in this article, the chemical-volatile-taste data in oyster sauce was given out
and visually compared these properties between the samples. The sensory characteris-
tics of various oyster sauces were also evaluated to find the relationships with volatile
and taste compounds by applying principal component analysis (PCA) and canonical
correlation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Materials
Samples of oyster sauces belonging to four certified brands were obtained from
different countries: Vietnam, Thailand, and China (Table 1). Two of the samples were
collected from the same company in China, which was considered as the birthplace of
oyster sauce. All the sauces were produced in the same batch and the same launch day
to make sure that the samples are homogenous for the instrumental measurements and
sensory assessments.
520 NGUYEN AND WANG

Table 1 Manufacture and ingredients of four kinds of oyster sauce.

Country
Code manufacture Ingredients

VN Vietnam Oyster extract, starch, salt, caramel, sugar

TL Thailand Oyster extract (30%), soy sauce, sugar, salt, starch
CN1 China Oyster mixture (oyster extract, water, salt), sugar, water, MSG, starch, flour,
caramel
CN2 China Oyster mixture (oyster extract, water, salt), sugar, water, MSG, starch, flour,
caramel

HS-SPME
A manual fiber-holder for SPME and one type of 75 µm carboxen/
polydimethylsiloxane CAR/PDMS, the fiber-coating were purchased from Sulpeco
(Bellefonte, PA, USA). The volatiles were desorbed in the GC injection port for 7 min
at 270◦ C. Three grams of sauce were placed into a 20-mL glassy vial and tightly capped
with septum. The septum covering each vial was then pierced with a SPME needle and the
fiber coating was exposed into the headspace for 35 min at 60◦ C. A magnetic stirrer and
temperature-control water bath were using during the extraction process.

GC-MS
Chromatography was performed using an Agilent Technology 6890N gas chro-
matograph interfaced to an Agilent 5975B inner MSD mass spectrometer (Agilent
Technologies, Inc.). A HP-5MS 5% phenyl methyl siloxane capillary non-polar column
(Agilent Technologies, Inc.) (30 m × 0.25 mm i.d. × 0.25 μm film thickness) was used.
The injection was made in a splitless mode at a temperature of 270◦ C. The following oven
temperature program was used: initially, the temperature of 30◦ C was held for 1 min, then
an increase of 2◦ C/min to 130◦ C; it was then followed by an increase of 15◦ C/min to
270◦ C and held at that temperature for 5 min. Helium was used as the carrier gas with a
flow of 1.0 mL/min. The mass spectra were obtained in electron-impact mode at 70 eV
using full scan with a scan range of 30–300 m/z at a rate of 2.5 scan−s . Data acqui-
sition and integration were loaded out with the ChemStation chromatography software
(Agilent Technologies, Inc.). The compounds present in the volatile profile of the oyster
sauce samples were identified by matching their mass spectra against the NIST05 library
and retention index values. In addition, identifying the unknown peak we used previous
literature reviews[11–13] and extra-references from some experts.

Free Amino Acids (FAAs)

FAAs were determined according to the recommended procedure from the manufac-
turer of Amino Acids Analysis (AAA, L-8500; Hitachi, Tokyo, Japan). One gram of sample
was diluted with 2 mL 5-sulfosalilylic acid dehydrate solution 10% and remained for 2 h.
After centrifuging, the 1 mL of the supernatant was transferred into another tube. If the pH
value of the supernatant was higher than 2, this extraction medium was diluted with dis-
tilled water in a proportion of 1:3 (w/w). Otherwise, the pH of 1 mL extraction of the sam-
ple was adjusted by the addition of 1 mL NaOH 0.01 N and then diluted with 2 mL water.
Then FAAs were identified and quantified by Amino Acid Analyzer (AAA; Tokyo, Japan).
 CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMERCIAL BRAND OYSTER SAUCES 521

Determination of Na, K, and Phosphorus

Sodium and potassium were evaluated by atom absorption spectroscopy AAS (ISO
8070-1987). Phosphorus was converted into molybdenum blue and then determined by a
spectrometer (ISO 3946-1982).

Sensory Evaluation
QDA® (Quantitative Descriptive Analysis) on a 9-point scale was used to find the
sensory profiles of products.[14] Eleven assessors were selected from 25 students of the
Food Science and Technology College, Shanghai Ocean University. They had an accept-
able ability to detect basic taste, common odors, and taste discrimination testing.[15–17]
Panelists will generate sensory attributes, definitions, and suggest references. Reference
standards have been defined as “any chemical, ingredient, spice, or product,”[18] such as
sucrose, salt, etc. Sensory attributes of products were grouped into these categories: color
(light brown, red brown, dark brown); texture; mouth feel; odor (fishy, caramel-like, oyster,
etc.); and taste (salty, umami, sweet, bitter).
The assessors were retrained in taste and flavor before assessment replication; this
made sure that they could remember clearly the sensory attributes of samples. Due to the
short-time break between two samples (about 10 min), not all the samples were analyzed
simultaneously. About 1 g of the oyster sauces were served to each of the assessors in a
small plate. For each of the sensory evaluations and replicates, samples were served in
coded plates in a totally random order. The temperature of the laboratory room is set up
at 20◦ C ± 2◦ C with fluorescent light. Water and a light biscuit were consumed before the
first sample to minimize the effect of the first sample as well as to refresh the tongue after
assessing.

Statistical Analysis
SAS software (version Release 9.1, SAS institute, Cary, NC, USA) was used
to analyze statistically experimental data. Mixed univariate ANOVA with assessor and
assessor∗ sample treated as random were applied to the sensory attributes data of four sam-
ples. In addition, the influence and the range differences between assessors, samples, and
assessor∗ sample on the scores were also detected. PCA was used to study the sensory pro-
filing of four samples with 18 sensory attributes. Analyses were performed using R 7.2.
In addition, the significant differences between the volatiles in samples were explained
by applying one-way ANOVA combined with a Kruskal Wallis test. Canonical correlation
was used to determine the relationship between sensory attributes and taste components,
while the relationship between sensory attributes and volatile compounds was carried out
by PCA and canonical correlation as well.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Analyzing the Volatile and Semi-volatile Compounds Dataset
Table 2 shows that the chemical volatiles identified as well as quantified value (Mean
± SD) in oyster sauces manufactured from different processing methods and countries.
A total of 75 compounds were figured out and classified in esters, alcohols, aldehydes, sul-
fur compounds, pyrasines, furans, ketones, aromatics, acids, and chlorinated compounds.
522 NGUYEN AND WANG

Table 2 Codes and mean peak area of volatile compounds identified in four kinds of oyster sauce and p value of
each volatile compound.

Relative peak area (%, Mean ± SD)

Code Name of compounds CN1 CN2 TL VN

Alcohols
A1 Ethyl alcohol 0.25 ± 0.05 0.15 ± 0.01 1.75 ± 0.02 10.83 ± 3.20
A2 1-Butanol 2.98 ± 0.13 1.16 ± 00 N.D. N.D.
A3 1-Pentanol 0.36 ± 0.03 0.64 ± 0.08 N.D. N.D.
A4 1-Penten-3-ol N.D. N.D. N.D. 0.1 ± 0.02
A5 1-Butanol, 2-methyl N.D. N.D. 0.83 ± 0.08 N.D.
A6 2,3-Butanediol N.D. N.D. 0.12 ± 0.18 N.D.
Aldehydes
A7 Acetaldehyde N.D. N.D. 0.16 ± 0.02 N.D.
A8 Hexanal N.D. N.D. 0.08 ± 0.00
A9 2-Butenal N.D. N.D. 0.64 ± 0.09 N.D.
A10 Butanal, 3-methyl N.D. N.D. 23.37 ± 1.63 0.3 ± 0.12
A11 Butanal, 2-methyl 0.94 ± 0.06 0.57 ± 0.03 14.91 ± 1.18 0.07 ± 0.02
A12 Propanal, 2-methyl 1.48 ± 0.08 0.52 ± 0.02 4.59 ± 0.20 N.D.
A13 Propanal, 3-(methylthio) N.D. N.D. 0.55 ± 0.10 N.D.
Furans
A14 Furan 2.37 ± 0.39 0.84 ± 0.00 1.16 ± 0.03 0.47 ± 0.13
A15 Furan, 2-methyl 0.52 ± 0.02 0.72 ± 0.04 1.63 ± 0.13 N.D.
A16 Furan, 2-pentyl N.D. 0.09 ± 0.04 N.D. N.D.
A17 Furan, 2-ethyl N.D. 0.07 ± 0.00 N.D. N.D.
A18 Furfural N.D. N.D. 2.37 ± 0.09 0.58 ± 0.24
A19 3-Furanmethanol 16.65 ± 1.62 16.92 ± 061 N.D. N.D.
A20 Furan, 2,5-dimethyl N.D. N.D. 0.17 ± 0.02 N.D.
A21 3(2H)-Furanone, 1.2 ± 0.00 N.D. 0.28 ± 0.03 0.08 ± 0.01
dihydro-2-methyl
A22 2-Furancarboxaldehyde, N.D. N.D. 0.2 ± 0.04 0.05 ± 0.03
5-methyl
Pryrasines and pyridines
A23 Pyrazine, 2,5-dimethyl 6.01 ± 0.62 15.28 ± 0.77 0.13 ± 0.02 0.1 ± 0.04
A24 Pyrimidine, 4,6-dimethyl 3.19 ± 0.37 3.93 ± 0.38 0.97 ± 0.19 N.D.
A25 Pyrazine, 2,3-dimethyl 0.86 ± 0.09 1.11 ± 0.16 0.15 ± 0.05 N.D.
A26 Pyrazine, methyl 11.91 ± 0.85 11.67 ± 0.68 3.92 ± 0.66 0.06 ± 0.00
A27 Pyrazine 6.15 ± 0.06 5.63 ± 0.04 N.D. N.D.
A28 Pyridine 0.39 ± 0.01 0.67 ± 0.20 N.D. N.D.
A29 Pyridine, 2-methyl N.D. 0.07 ± 0.04 N.D. N.D.
A30 Pyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methyl 0.7 ± 0.16 0.7 ± 0.15 N.D. N.D.
A31 Pyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methyl 0.55 ± 0.29 2.18 ± 0.26 N.D. N.D.
A32 Pyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methyl 0.47 ± 0.23 0.39 ± 0.07 N.D. N.D.
A33 Pyrazine, trimethyl 0.63 ± 0.12 2.08 ± 0.25 0.05 ± 0.01 0
A34 Pyrazine, 0.38 ± 0.4 2.21 ± 2.5 N.D. N.D.
3-ethyl-2,5-dimethyl
A35 Ethanone, N.D. 0.15 ± 0.06 N.D. N.D.
1-(1H-pyrrol-2-yl)
A36 Pyrazine, N.D. 1.08 ± 1.91 N.D. N.D.
2-ethyl-3,5-dimethyl
A37 Pyrazine, 2,6-diethyl N.D. 0.14 ± 0.02 N.D. N.D.
A38 Pyrazine, N.D. 0.12 ± 0.03 N.D. N.D.
2,3-diethyl-5-methyl
A39 Pyrazine, N.D. 0.2 ± 0.05 N.D. N.D.
3,5-diethyl-2-methyl

(Continued)
 CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMERCIAL BRAND OYSTER SAUCES 523

Table 2 Continued.

Relative peak area (%, Mean ± SD)

Code Name of compounds CN1 CN2 TL VN

A40 Pyrazine, N.D. 0.08 ± 0.02 N.D. N.D.

3,5-dimethyl-2-propyl
A41 2,3,5-Trimethyl-6- N.D. 0.12 ± 0.03 N.D. N.D.
ethylpyrazine
A42 Pyrazine, 2,5-dimethyl-3- N.D. 0.05 ± 0.02 N.D. N.D.
(2-methylpropyl)
Esters
A43 Ethyl acetate N.D. N.D. 2.09 ± 0.13 23.23 ± 2.52
A44 1,2-Propanediol, 2-acetate N.D. N.D. N.D. 0.6 ± 0.06
A45 1,2-Propanediol, diacetate N.D. N.D. N.D. 0.23 ± 0.12
Ketones
A46 Acetone 16.45 ± 0.92 8.69 ± 2.11 N.D. N.D.
A47 2-Butanone 8.51 ± 0.4 8.6 ± 0.93 0.92 ± 0.11 N.D.
A48 2-Propanone, 1-hydroxy 2.75 ± 0.17 3.44 ± 0.52 0.62 ± 0.10 N.D.
A49 2-Propanone, 1-methoxy- N.D. 1.39 ± 0.408 N.D. N.D.
A50 2-Butanone, 3-hydroxy 0.41 ± 0.00 0.6 ± 0.02 N.D. N.D.
A51 2,3-Butanedione N.D. N.D. 5.81 ± 0.21 N.D.
A52 Ethanone, 1-(2-furanyl) 0.77 ± 0.05 N.D. 0.72 ± 0.16 0.15 ± 0.10
A53 3-Pentanone N.D. N.D. 0.18 ± 0.03 N.D.
Sulfur compounds
A54 Dimethyl sulfide N.D. N.D. 10.34 ± 0.12 4.41 ± 1.61
A55 Disulfide, dimethyl N.D. N.D. 0.63 ± 0.080 0.05 ± 0.01
A56 Methanethiol N.D. N.D. 0.17 ± 0.04 N.D.
Amines
A57 Trimethylamine N.D. 0.54 ± 0.19 N.D. N.D.
Chlorinated compounds
A58 Trichloromethane 1.78 ± 0.31 N.D. 0.94 ± 0.06 N.D.
Aromatics
A59 Benzaldehyde 0.34 ± 0.37 0.04 ± 0.00 0.21 ± 0.05 N.D.
A60 Thiophene 0.08 ± 0.01 0.12 ± 0.00 N.D. N.D.
A61 Limonene N.D. 0.17 ± 0.13 N.D. 0.18 ± 0.20
Acids
A62 Acetic acid 5.07 ± 0.53 4.71 ± 0.2 8.27 ± 0.25 N.D.
A63 Propanoic acid 0.4 ± 0.36 0.27 ± 0.17 N.D. N.D.
A64 Butanoic acid N.D. 0.09 ± 0.01 N.D. N.D.
A65 Benzenecarboxylic acid N.D. N.D. 1.17 ± 0.06 0.41 ± 0.90
A66 Sorbic acid N.D. N.D. 0.21 ± 0.31 N.D.
Unknown
A67 Triacetin N.D. N.D. N.D. 48.89 ± 8.41
A68 Oxazole, 4,5-dimethyl- N.D. 1.845 ± 0.57 N.D. N.D.
A69 1,3-Dioxane, 2-methyl N.D. N.D. 0.34 ± 0.01 N.D.
A70 1,3-Dioxolane, N.D. N.D. 0.25 ± 0.13 N.D.
2-heptyl-4-methyl
A71 4-Methylthiazole N.D. 0.37 ± 0.1 N.D. N.D.
A72 Thiazole, 2-methyl N.D. 0.15 ± 0.01 N.D. N.D.
A73 Methacrolein N.D. N.D. 0.07 ± 0.01 N.D.
A74 Propylene glycol N.D. N.D. 4.73 ± 2.07 5.08 ± 0.90
A75 Ethyl ether N.D. N.D. 0.11 ± 0.005 N.D.

Note: All volatile compounds were significantly different (p < 0.01) between four samples (using ANOVA
combined Kruskal Wallis test).
N.D.: Non-detected.
524 NGUYEN AND WANG

Table 3 The mean peak area of volatiles in four kinds of oyster sauce (P < 0.01).

Peak area (×106 )

Name of compound CN1 CN2 TL VN

Alcohols 55.27 57.27 87.71 322.45

Aldehydes 57.41 31.91 1413.55 12.93
Furans 305.52 546.95 170.92 34.63
Pyrazin, pyridine 460.26 1403.55 153.11 4.6
Esters N.D. 10.73 61.53 712.97
Ketones 425.49 681.21 256.15 7.07
Sulfur compounds N.D. N.D. 322.47 131.49
Amines N.D. 15.77 N.D. N.D.
Chlorinate compounds 99.86 N.D. 27.61 111.53
Aromatics 27.42 13.18 6.15 8.02
Acids 80.46 148.65 283.84 12.15
Unknown 4.23 17.09 158.36 1592.09

N.D.: Not detected.

According to the finding, pyrasines, aldehydes, and ketones were dominant chemical
groups among all volatiles (Table 3). The results were reported in agreement with the
previous studies.[1]
Alcohols may be formed by the decomposition of secondary hydroperoxides of fatty
acids.[19] The most remarkable compound, namely 1-penten-3-ol found in sample VN, also
was identified in oyster.[20,21] Two compounds, 1-butanol and 1-petanol of alcohols, were
found to be common in two of the samples (CN1, CN2), and they were determined as
the major compounds with 2.98 and 0.36% (peak area) for CN1 and 1.16 and 0.64% for
CN2, respectively. They have been believed to contribute to the pungent, strong odor of
foods.[2,10] 2, 3-Butanediol was only identified in TL, which was made by using soy sauce
as the ingredient, and this compound distributes to the buttery, roast odor. The same volatile
was quantified and qualified in soy sauce.[22]
Aldehydes showed a great potential for contribution to the flavor of oyster and the
other shellfish. In those compounds, benzaldehyde probably was released from Strecker
degradation of amino acids and has been the main compound in roasted peanuts. However,
it may also be found as an important flavor volatile of crayfish tail meat, and may occurr
in oyster.[1] Benzaldehyde has been perceived as the pleasant, fruity aroma. In addition,
propanal 2-methyl/3-methyl, butanal 2-methy/3-methyl, and hexanal were also reported
by other literatures that focused on flavor of food, and in fact, flavor of shellfish.[1,7,19]
Butanal methyl was indicated in four samples, while hexanal was only found in VN.
It might illustrate the significant differences in sensory attributes between VN and other
samples.
Ketones may be produced by thermal oxidation or degradation of polyunsaturated
fatty acids.[11,23] Among ketones, 2,3-butanedione affects an intensive buttery and desir-
able aroma to foods, such as caramel vanilla.[24] In addition, furans are often found in
flavor components of roasted or boiled seafood. CN1 and CN2 were evaluated with a high
amount of ketones, such as 2-butanone, acetone, and 2-propanone 1-hydroxy. In contrast,
2,3-butanedione was only found in sample TL. It can be explained by the differences in
ingredients and processing so that it would affect on the volatiles as well as the final
sensory attributes of each sample. Furfural found in all samples is probably derived from
sugar-amino acid reaction. It processes a sweet, caramel and bread-like odor.[25]
 CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMERCIAL BRAND OYSTER SAUCES 525

Due to high quantities of pyrasiznes and their low flavor thresholds, they are gen-
erally considered important volatile compounds in many thermally processed foods.[1]
Mallard and pyrolysis reactions may form these compounds in heat-processed products
because they take up for roasted and toasted odor in foods. Alkylpyrasines, such as
pyrasines 2, 5-dimethyl, and pyrasine methyl-, were identified in many seafood and vary
from crayfish tail meat, cooked crab to oyster.[26] They have roasted, nutty, meaty aromas
while ethanone 1H-Pyrrol does not have the strong nutty aroma but may derive a sweet,
caramel-like and slightly burnt characteristic of foods. Twenty pryrasines were totally
determined in four samples and pyrazine 2,5 dimethyl and pyrazine methyl were the
majority of these compounds. Oyster sauce manufacture processing involves adding
caramel, heating, and pasteurizing so that pryrasines might be released during production.
CN2 had the most pyrazine compounds as well as ethanone 1H-Pyrrol indicated in only
sample CN2. The process of adding caramel as the ingredient probably could explain this
situation.
Pyridines have been believed to impart the unpleasant flavor to food at high con-
centrations. Especially, 3-methy pyridine was reported to have a popcorn or astringent
odor.[27] Various pyridines are formed by the interaction of 1,5-dicarbonyl compounds
with ammonia or amino acids.[13] Pyridine was found in CN1 and CN2 (0.39 and 0.67%
of total peak area, respectively) but non-detective in the rest of the samples. As a result, the
characteristics of these two samples will be significantly different than the others.
An off-flavor in fish, shrimp, and their products, such as fish sauce, has been associ-
ated with trimethylamine (TMA) because it has a very low threshold in water.[28] TMA is
most realized from trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) by microbial reduction.[29] TMA only
was identified in the sample CN2, which maybe has the fishy odor as a sensory character-
istic. Further studies needed to confirm the relationship between the volatiles and sensory
data.
Sulfur- containing compounds are formed during processing or storing of products
and contribute to an unpleasant or pleasant flavor. As in the previous studies, dimethyl
disulphide and dimethyl trisulphide have been found in most thermal processing prod-
ucts, such as oyster, crayfish, and prawn.[30] Two compounds are the overall affect on
aroma of foods due to their low threshold in water.[31] Dimethyl disulphide, perhaps, is the
oxidation product of methanethiol or a bacteria degradation of methionine.[32] Dimethyl
sulfide and disulfide dimethyl both were identified in two samples TL (10.34 and 0.63%
peak area, respectively) and VN (4.41 and 0.05% peak area, respectively), but TL had the
higher amount of these compounds (10.97%). Several sulfur volatile compounds already
presented in raw oyster during the cold storage could explain the higher amount in the
sample.[22] In addition, dimethyl sulphide was identified in boiled oysters.[33]
Esters have been found in the volatiles of boiled shellfish, such as crayfish, shrimp,
and oyster waste.[13,26,34] Esters are the products of esterification of carboxylic acids and
alcohols or are formed in fermentation or lipid metabolism.[1] They can be present in a
large amount of roasted or fermented foods. Ethyl acetate was found in raw oyster as well
as present in two kinds of oyster sauce. The sample VN took up an extremely high content
of total ketones, such as ethyl acetate, with more than 96.11% of total ketones. While
it presented with low quantities, it did not present in the rest of the three samples. This
compound has been previously found in raw oyster and cooked crayfish. However, esters
have not been reported as the main flavor compounds in shellfish products.[1,6,19]
Five kinds of acids were found in the samples and they have been believed to be
present as the ingredients of the products. Triacetin was only indicated in VN with very
high concentration (48.89% peak area) contributing to the bitter taste and fatty odor of
526 NGUYEN AND WANG

Figure 1 Plot of principle component analysis and individual factors of the sensory attributes and volatile
compounds. The code was listed in Table 2 (color figure available online).

foods. To figure out the overall profile of volatiles in four samples, PCA was applied in
the analysis. From Fig. 1, the first principle component PC1 explained 55.82% of the vari-
ation across four samples, while PC2 explained 29.73% of the variance. According to the
volatile compounds distributions at the first quadrant Q1, the CN2 could be represented
mostly by the pyrasines compounds (such as pyrasine 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethyl, pryasine 2,6-
diethyl, pyrasine 2,3-diethyl-5-methyl), ketones (such as acetone and 2-butanone), and
furans (such as furan, furan 2-pentyl, and 3-furanmethanol). The opposite side Q4 contains
few volatiles but most of the compounds are the alcohols, such as 1-pental-1-ol, propan-
diol, and triacetin. All of these compounds were the dominant volatiles of sample VN.
Two samples CN1 and TL located in Q1 and Q3, respectively. The volatile contributions
of the first quadrant Q1 were aldehydes, such as acetaldehyde, butanal 3-methyl, butanal
2-methyl, propananl 2-methyl, and propanal 3-methylthio-, except hexanal. Aromatic and
chlorinated compounds could qualify the volatile representative of the third quadrant Q3.
It seems there was not much disagreement between the location of volatile compounds in
PCA plot and the quantitative values of each sample.

Analyzing the Taste Compounds Dataset

The most important taste compounds are free amino acids and inorganic salts, which
are water-soluble and produce the distinct taste of foods. In the study, these components
were considered as the important factor of taste feeling. Table 4 illustrates the content
of the FAAs in four commercial brand oyster sauces. All these FAAs were observed in
 Table 4 Free amino acids (FAAs) and minerals composition in four kinds of oyster sauce (P < 0.01).

Amino
No. acids(%) VN TL CN1 CN2 Tastea

1 Aspartic acid 0.06 2.82 0.01 0.31 Umami

2 Threonine N.D. 1.44 N.D. 0.05 Sweet
3 Serine N.D. 1.92 N.D. 0.05 Sweet
4 Glutamic acid 96.49 65.73 10.51 90.61 Umami
5 Glycine N.D. 6.35 0.03 1.9 Sweet
6 Alanine 0.03 0.5 0.04 2.1 Sweet
7 Cystine 1.44 0.99 0.06 0.51 N.D.
8 Valine N.D. 2.25 N.D. 0.12 Bitter
9 Methionine N.D. 0.72 N.D. N.D. N.D.
10 Isoleucine N.D. 1.76 N.D. 0.05 Bitter
11 Leucine 0.09 3.17 0.01 0.15 Bitter

527
12 Phenylalamine 0.95 1.54 N.D. 0.36 Bitter
13 Lysine N.D. 2.38 89.23 0.56 Bitter
14 Histidine 0.92 7.19 0.11 3.21 Bitter
15 Arginine N.D. 0.99 N.D. N.D. Bitter

Total (%) Umami FAAs 96.55 68.55 10.52 90.92

Sweet FAAs 0.03 10.21 0.07 4.1
Bitter FAAs 1.96 20 89.35 4.45
Unkown FAAs 1.47 1.25 0.06 0.53

Minerals (mg/100g) Phosphate 2437.58 ± 111.98 1551.222 ± 196.35 3495.264 ± 0.00 5286.685 ± 112.07 Sour-Salt
Sodium 3616.24 ± 0.00 2697.26 ± 0.00 4170.614 ± 0.00 4039.677 ± 0.00 Sour-Salt
Potassium 18.40017 ± 0.00 104.6486 ± 0.00 44.53474 ± 0.00 137.8532 ± 0.00 Sour-Salt
a Referencefrom Schlichtherle-Cerny, Evaluation of taste compounds of stewed beef juice.
N.D.: Not detected.
528 NGUYEN AND WANG

100

90 VN
TL
80 CN1
CN2
70

60
Percent (%)

50

40

30

20

10

0
Umami amino acids Sweet amino acids Bitter amino acids Mis subs amino acids

Figure 2 Comparison of four group FAAs composition in oyster sauces (α = 5%).

previous reports related to oyster sauce and oyster raw materials.[1,36,37] Glutamic acid
(Glu) was the highest content among all kinds of FAAs. Its amount in relative proportions
was remarkable; the percentage of this FAA in each product was 96.5, 65.7, 10.5, and
90.6%, respectively. The result was similar to fermented oyster sauce[38] with the highest
percentage of Glu in free amino acid composition. Figure 2 shows that the content of
umami amino acids is the highest in VN sample, followed by the sweet amino acids in
TL sample (10.21%). The interesting thing is that CN1 had a very high content of bitter
FAAs (89.35%); meanwhile the rest of the samples had a very low amount. Other reports
have shown that the content of the six amino acids (Thr, Asp, Met, Ile, Leu, and Lys)
were connected with the fermented and cured flavor, while Thr and Gly contributed to the
saltiness and Phe and Ile to the bitterness.[3] Proportions of the content between FAAs and
the tasty one could contribute to oyster sauce taste. FAAs, such as Glu, Gly, Lys, and Ala,
were abundant and were recognized as being important elements in the tastes of fish and
shellfish sauces.[37]
The most interesting in mineral composition was their concentrations that were much
higher than the threshold, except for potassium in CN1 and VN samples. The highest con-
centration of sodium was in CN1 and was followed by CN2. The similar result was reported
in phosphate content with the two above samples. The taste of oyster sauce was savory and
desirable, which was full of saltiness, umami, sweetness, and other tastes. Therefore, the
relationships between the taste sensory attributes and non-volatile compounds had been
determined.

Analyzing the Sensory Dataset

Table 5 shows the sensory attributes assessed by the assessors and their mean inten-
sities when evaluating the four kinds of oyster sauces. From the ANOVA results conducted
 CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMERCIAL BRAND OYSTER SAUCES 529

Table 5 List of sensory attributes of oyster sauce with descriptions.

Sensory attributes Definition

Appearance
Brown The color of chocolate
Stickiness The quality of being sticky. Sticky is covered with a substance that stays fixed
to any surface it touches
Smoothness The quality of being smooth. Smooth is having a surface or substance that is
perfectly regular and has no holes, lumps, or areas that rise or fall suddenly.
Your hand moves across it and feels it flat.
Thickness The quality of being thick. Thick is the solution with high concentration of
substance.
Melting-mouth The quality of easiness of being melted. To turn something becomes soft.
feel
Odor
Oyster The odor associated with oyster hydrolyzed solution
Fishy The odor associated with fish sauce
Soya sauce The odor associated with soy sauce
Fried pork The odor associated with Chinese “rou song” fried pork
Caramel The odor associated with caramel
Taste
Sweet The taste on the tongue associated with sucrose solution
Sour The taste on the tongue associated with citric acid
Bitter The taste on the tongue associated with caramel solution
Salty The taste on the tongue associated with salt solution
Umami The taste on the tongue associated with monosodium glutamate
Aftertaste
Sweet The taste left the tongue after swallowing and associated with sucrose solution
Umami The taste left the tongue after swallowing and associated with monosodium
glutamate
Bitter The taste left the tongue after swallowing and associated with caramel solution

on the descriptive data of the four oyster sauce samples, most attributes were significantly
different across samples (P < 0.001) for oyster odor, fishy odor, salty, and fried pork;
many color and appearance attributes (P < 0.01) distinguished these kinds of oyster sauce
(Table 6). Significant assessor∗ sample interactions were found for all attributes. The repli-
cations and replication∗ assessor were not a significant source of variation for all sensory
attributes.
Mean intensity of the four samples and SD are given in Table 7. Sample CN1 and
CN2 manufactured under the same method had similarity in almost all sensory attributes,
such as appearance (color, texture), fishy odor, fried pork odor, and some kinds of taste. The
result showing the higher intensities in typical odor attributes of the sample, such as oyster,
soy sauce in VN and TL, were explained because of the different ingredients and process-
ing. In contrast, sample CN1 and CN2 showed a different sensory profile as compared to
two other samples, with high intensities in brow, stickiness, and fried pork odor whistle
being lower intensities in oyster and soy sauce odor. In addition, sample CN2 was very
intensive in saltiness and umani taste. This fact can be explained by traditional Chinese
oyster sauce manufacture using fresh oyster broth and salt.
In order to determine the overall sensory evaluation, PCA was used to all sensory
attributes. From Fig. 3, the sensory attributes of the four quadrants of four separated
samples was shown. Saltiness and fried pork odor and aftertaste perception situated in
530 NGUYEN AND WANG

Table 6 The significance levels for the sensory attributes of four kinds of oyster sauce.

Sensory attributes Assessor Sample Assessor∗ sample Replication

Brown ∗∗∗a ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ NS

Stickiness ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ NS
Smoothness NS ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ NS
Thickness ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ NS
Melting-mouth feel ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ NS
Oyster ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ NS
Fishy ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ NS
Soya sauce ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ NS
Fried pork NS ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ NS
Carmel ∗ ∗ ∗∗∗ NS
Sweet ∗∗∗ NS ∗∗∗ NS
Sour ∗∗∗ NS ∗∗∗ NS
Caramel bitter ∗∗∗ NS ∗∗∗ NS
Salty ∗∗∗ ∗ ∗∗∗ NS
Umami ∗∗∗ NS ∗∗∗ NS
After-sweet ∗∗∗ NS ∗∗∗ NS
After-umami ∗∗∗ NS ∗∗∗ NS
After-bitter ∗∗∗ NS ∗∗∗ NS
∗∗∗, ∗∗, ∗ Significantly
different using F test at P < 0.001, P < 0.01, P < 0.5, respectively, using a mixed
ANOVA mode with sample as random effect.
NS: Non significant.

Table 7 Mean value for sensory attributes of four oyster sauces.

Sample
No. Distributes VN TL CN1 CN2 P

1 Brown 3.45 ± 0.82 4.18 ± 1.05 6.77 ± 1.14 7.6 ± 0.83 <0.0001
2 Stickiness 3.9 ± 0.80 4.04 ± 1.44 3.13 ± 1.36 3.13 ± 1.39 0.017
3 Smoothness 2.13 ± 0.23 2.18 ± 0.33 3.27 ± 1.05 3.45 ± 1.4 0.0001
4 Thickness 5.86 ± 1.7 5.2 ± 173 6.59 ± 1.20 6.7 ± 1.06 0.0001
5 Melting-mouth 2.5 ± 1.2 1.9 ± 0.43 3.09 ± 1.28 3.77 ± 1.77 0.0012
feel
6 Oyster 5.5 ± 0.74 1.86 ± 0.63 1.82 ± 0.9 2.0 ± 0.86 <0.0001
7 Fishy 3.27 ± 2.3 2.45 ± 1.44 3.27 ± 1.99 3.54 ± 2.27 <0.0001
8 Soy sauce 2.9 ± 1.67 6.68 ± 1.47 3.13 ± 1.84 3.72 ± 1.97 <0.0001
9 Fried pork 2.09 ± 1.42 2.27 ± 1.47 5.0 ± 1.78 5.86 ± 1.87 <0.0001
10 Caramel 3.49 ± 2.39 3.77 ± 2.0 2.95 ± 1.61 3.3 ± 1.12 0.68
11 Sweet 4.95 ± 1.6 4.04 ± 1.7 4.13 ± 1.68 4.27 ± 1.7 0.33
12 Sour 3.8 ± 2.19 3.4 ± 2.02 4.0 ± 1.68 3.45 ± 2.2 0.58
13 Bitter 3.13 ± 1.79 3.36 ± 2.23 3.86 ± 1.98 3.72 ± 1.76 0.53
14 Salty 5.73 ± 1.72 6.18 ± 1.43 6.41 ± 0.86 7.0 ± 1.12 0.02
15 Umami 5.54 ± 1.94 5.22 ± 1.91 5.72 ± 1.87 6.0 ± 1.7 0.32
16 After-sweet 3.81 ± 2.08 3.81 ± 1.79 3.41 ± 1.26 3.4 ± 1/49 0.77
17 After-umami 4.72 ± 2.02 4.77 ± 2.28 5.31 ± 2.45 5/63 ± 2.46 0.13
18 After-bitter 2.4 ± 2.13 2.45 ± 1.43 3.18 ± 2.04 3.27 ± 2.1 0.26

second quadrant identified as typical sensory attributes of sample CN2 in the first quad-
rant. Q2 shows the typical characteristics of TL sample with soy sauce odor and stickiness.
Location of Q4 is opposite site where melting and fishy odor of sample CN1. The third
quadrant could be qualified by the oyster odor and sweet taste. The first two principle
 CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMERCIAL BRAND OYSTER SAUCES 531

Figure 3 Plot of principle component analysis of the sensory attributes of four samples.

components explained 91.15% of total variance so that there is no disagreement occurring

in the locations of sensory attributes.

The Relationship between Sensory Attributes, Taste Compounds,

and Volatile Compounds
To determine the relationships between taste compounds and sensory data in four
oyster sauce samples, canonical correlation was applied showing the correlation coeffi-
cients with each taste sensory attributes. The sweet FAAs showed the high correlation
(R = 0.99) with sweet taste (including sweet aftertaste). The sample CN1 had the high-
est amount of bitter FAAs (89.36%) and also showed the highest intensity in bitter taste.
However, the similar results with other samples, such as the second high amount of bitter
FAAs, did not occur since the bitter taste should be probably connected with the hydropho-
bic peptides.[40] Components related to umami, such as FAAs and inosine monophosphate,
had been considered to be important contributors to the sensory quality.[22] This statement
could be explained by the high intensity in both FAAs and sensory attributes in all sam-
ples. In contrast, there was an insignificant difference between four samples in terms of
umami, i.e., the sample VN had the very high concentration of umami FAAs yet indicated
the nearly lowest intensity in sensory profile. Therefore, the contrast of quantification of
FAAs and taste intensity would depend on many other factors, such as the peptides and
some of the flavor compounds, as well as their synergistic effects.[40]
There has been little work on the flavor of minerals in food. Fuke and Konosu[41]
believed that inorganic salts, such as Na+ , K+ , Cl− , and PO4 3− , contributed to fish flavor.[1]
Consequently, CN1 and CN2 were significantly higher in total amount of minerals than
others, and CN1 had the highest intensity in fishy odor. It was also explained by canonical
correlation, with phosphate (R = 0.84) and sodium (R = 0.92). In addition, salty was highly
correlated to phosphate and potassium with R = 0.77 and R = 0.76, respectively, while
poorly correlated to free amino acids.
PCA was applied to point out the relationships between volatile compounds and sen-
sory attributes.[5,6,42–45] The peak area values of volatile compounds were injected into
the plot built with the sensory information evaluated by trained assessors. The position of
532 NGUYEN AND WANG

volatiles and sensory characteristics and the distance between them showed their informa-
tion content. Other studies indicated that the vicinity of a volatile to an attribute illustrates
a good relationship between them, but also depends on other sensory attributes surround-
ing it. In addition, the distance of a volatile to the circle centre figured out how much it
contributed to the aroma.[4] It indicated that the volatiles near the centre of the circle took
up the less contribution than those near the perimeter of the circle. Thus, from Fig. 1, the
most remarkable volatile compounds that contributed to oyster sauce odor were including
furan 2-methyl, aldehydes, pyrazine methyl, ethanone 1,2-furanyl, and acid acetic.
From Fig. 1, it can be seen that most of the volatiles were located in Q1 and
Q2 quadrants. As mentioned above, the Q2 were qualified by most of the pryrasines and
pyridines except pyridine 3-methyl, furan 2-pentyl, 3-furanmethol, furfural, and ketones
except 2,3 butanedione and 3-pentanone. In addition, due to sensory dataset, the fried pork,
salty, and caramel bitter represented the sensory characteristics of this quadrant and sam-
ple CN2 as well. It seems that there was no agreement in explanation of presence of these
pryrasines and ketones, particularly the pryrasines that were near the fried pork flavor. Soy
sauce flavor location was very near to all kinds of aldehydes except hexanal and alcohols,
such as 2,3-butanediol, methaneniol, and 1-3 dioxane 2-methyl, 1,3-dioxane 2-heptyl-4-
methyl. As a result, the Q1 could be defined by the aldehydes, 2,3-butanediol group and
the soy sauce odor as well. This location seemed to be similar with previous studies about
soy sauce odor.[22] The disagreement was, in fact, that sulfur compounds were near to
caramel odor but opposite with fishy odor that has been believed to be contributed by these
compounds. The low threshold of them in the samples could explain it, so that they may
not effect mainly on the flavor.
In the fourth quadrant, the compounds, including 1-penten-3-ol, hexanal, 1,2-
propanediol-2-acetate, 1,2-propandiol diacetate, and oyster odor were in the vicinity.
Therefore, the relationship between oyster and those compounds was observed. In previous
studies, 1-penten-3-ol and hexanal were believed to contribute to the odor of oyster.[1,26]

In addition, the variance of each of the sensory traits that could be correlated to indi-
vidual compounds of the volatiles dataset independently was determined. Table 8 shows
the correlation detected between the sensory attributes and the volatiles indentified and
quantified in four samples. Only the maximum R-coefficients were illustrated in the table

Table 8 The statistical correlation value between sensory attributes and volatile compounds identified in oyster
sauces.

Sensory
attribute Volatile compounds R-coefficient1

Oyster A1, A4, A5, A6 > 0.97

Fishy A2, A13, A15 > 0.96
A61, A62 > 0.99
Soya sauce A8, A9, A10, A11 > 0.96
A51 > 0.99
Fried pork A17, A21, A42, A45, A50, A51, A52, A53, A54, A55, A58, > 0.98
A64, A65, A68, A69, A72, A73, A74
Caramel A14, A26 > 0.95
Sour A31, A32, A33, A35 > 0.90
1 Indicates significant correlation coefficients (P < 0.05).
 CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMERCIAL BRAND OYSTER SAUCES 533

and the highest R (R > 0.97) was found with sweet taste and the odor as expected before.
It can be explained because volatile compounds are mostly linked to odor perception. There
have been previous studies where all believe the volatile compounds and semi-volatile were
closely correlated to odor and aroma.[2]

CONCLUSIONS
This study shows the differences in the volatile compounds, taste compounds, and
sensory attributes of various oyster sauces. Each sample showed the typical odor and
taste due to the PCA analysis, but there was the insignificant difference in taste percep-
tion between four samples. It can be explained by the differences in ingredients and the
processing of oyster extracting (fermentation or boiling). Overall, CN1 and CN2 had the
similarity in volatile composition and sensory characteristic. It could depend on the same
manufacture of these samples. From the relationship between the volatile compounds,
taste compounds, and sensory attributes, the correlation was observed in some aspects.
The sweet taste highly correlated to sweet free amino acids. Oyster, soy sauce, and fried
pork odor can be explained by the presence of 1-penten-3-ol, aldehydes, and pryrasines,
respectively, in samples. By the different datasets in this study, the details of the volatile
and taste compositions of oyster sauce may provide valuable information in determining
the expected target volatiles and taste components in developing new savory products.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to express their gratitude to members in the Lab of Nutrition
and Food Safety, Shanghai Ocean University for providing excellent help.

NOMENCLATURE

HS-SPME Headspace-solid phase microextraction

FAAs Free amino acids
GC-MS Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
MSG Monosodium glutamate
PCA Principle component analysis
RI Retention index

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