Aging time influences fatty acid profiles and volatile compounds in cooked Thai native beef.

Objective: This study aims to assess the impact of aging time on the quality of meat, fatty acid profiles, and volatile compounds in cooked Thai native beef. Materials and Methods: The experiment utilized a randomized complete block design, where the aging time (0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days) served as the treatment and the longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle from Thai native cattle (<i>n</i> = 4) was considered a block. Results: Meat color and Warner-Bratzler shear force values decreased as the aging time increased. Furthermore, the moisture content decreased while the protein and ash content increased with a longer aging time. The proportions of fatty acids showed significant differences with varying aging times. These fatty acids exhibited the highest proportions in the 14-day dry-aged beef samples. The levels of short-chain aldehydes (pentanal, heptanal, octanal, nonanal, decanal, and 2-non¬enal) and alcohols (1-hexanol and 1-octanol) decreased as the aging time increased. However, there was an increase in long-chain aldehydes (tetradecanal, hexadecanal, heptadecanal, and octadecanal) with longer aging time. In addition, the levels of toluene, dodecane, tridecane, methyl-pyrazine, 2,5-dimethyl-pyrazine, trimethyl-pyrazine, and dimethyl trisulfide were higher in 14-day dry-aged beef compared to beef that had not been aged. Furthermore, a correlation was found between the number of the 6 significant fatty acids in the dry-aged beef samples and the 12 volatile compounds in cooked beef. Conclusion: Our results suggest that aging times significantly influence the fatty acid profiles of Thai native beef, which in turn are correlated with the characteristic volatile compounds.