14B-11

W. C. J. MA¹, H. Y. Chung², P. O. Ang, Jr.¹, and H. Y. Ngai³. (1) Bio. Dept., The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China, Hong Kong, (2) Bio. Dept., Food and Nutritional Sciences Programme, and Food Sci. Lab., The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China, Hong Kong, (3) Food and Nutritional Sciences Programme, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China, Hong Kong

Seafood is an important food source for many countries. Many consumers appreciate their delicate flavors. Recent researches showed that bromophenols were an important group of flavor compounds providing desirable and characteristic marine- or brine-like flavor in seafood at suitable levels. In Hong Kong, the annual consumption of seafood per consumer is among the highest in Asia, but information on the presence and levels of bromophenols associated with them are unavailable. The objective of this study was to investigate the presence and content of bromophenols in selected seafood found in Hong Kong. Selected marine and freshwater food samples including fishes, crustaceans, mollusks and seaweeds were freshly purchased from market or collected within Hong Kong water. Samples were acidified to pH 1 and extracted with a simultaneous steam distillation-solvent extraction (SDE) apparatus. Extracts were concentrated and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Selective ion monitoring (SIM) on six bromophenols including 2-, 3- and 4-bromophenol, 2,4- and 2,6-dibromophenol, and 2,4,6-tribromophenol were carried out. Bromophenols were detected in all marine seafood samples, and their total bromophenol content (TBC) varied greatly among the samples. 2,4,6-Tribromophenol was found to be the most abundant. Seaweed, Sargassum siliquastrum, contained higher level of both TBC and number of bromophenols (4). The levels of individual bromophenols in fish gut was generally higher than that in the fish flesh (p<0.05). No bromophenols were detected in freshwater samples. Results showed that bromophenols were present only in marine seafoods but not in freshwater ones. This study agreed well with observations carried out by other researchers in different locations, and provided more information about the presence of these components in the seafood supply in Hong Kong.