Modeling Volatile Organic Compounds Released by Bovine Fresh Meat Using an Integration of Solid Phase Microextraction and Databases

The influence of volatile organic compounds is often regarded as a critical factor of food flavor quality. Nevertheless, information about the biochemical origin of odorants is not totally available. Quantification of volatile compounds in meat is not easy, but a new approach that helps is the use of GC/MS-SPME. This technique can generate large-scale data sets that allow for the development of computational technologies for better integration and biochemical interpretation. Volatile organic compounds of bovine fresh meat samples were measured by GC/MS-SPME, using four SPME fibers. The compounds were analyzed using an integration of chemical and biological database systems (NIST and KEGG, respectively). Twelve metabolic pathways were identified. A metabolic network model was constructed using graph elements, linking pathways through a central branch mediated by glycolysis. Experimental data indicated that post-mortem glycolysis is associated with the release of volatile compounds in fresh meat. The proposed technique could be used to study possible sources of biochemical compounds in meat to be applied in food analysis.