Composition of Volatile Compounds in Heat-Treated Meat from Polish Native Sheep Breeds Using HS-SPME-GC/MS – Chemometric Classification Based on Breed and Age

In order to characterize the volatile compounds composition of lamb meat, 3 groups of baked leg muscle samples from two Polish native sheep breeds: Świniarka aged 9 months (S9), Wrzosówka aged 9 months (W9), and Wrzosówka aged 7 months (W7), were analyzed by HS-SPME-GC/MS, followed by multivariate statistics comprising the F-ratio method for variables pre-selection, and PCA-LDA analysis. Ninety seven volatile compounds were determined, out of which 74 were identified. The largest classes of volatile compounds were aldehydes and furans followed by alcohols, hydrocarbons, ketones, and sulfur and nitrogen compounds. Statistically significant differences between the S9, W9, and W7 groups were observed for 11 volatiles, i.e.: pentanal; hexanal; 1,3-octadiene; benzaldehyde; 3-ethyl-2-methyl-1,3-hexadiene; 3-octen-2-one; 2-octenal; 2-hexylfuran; tetradecanal; pentadecanal; hexadecanal. The HS-SPME-GC/MS method coupled with chemometrics, based on the relative intensity spectral data of these volatiles, proved to be an effective tool for the discrimination of lambs according to breed and age. The classification accuracy value for the S9, W9, and W7 groups was 100%.