Impact of dietary plant protein levels on the volatile composition of Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis Kaup, 1858) muscle

The present study evaluates the possible effects of dietary protein sources on Senegalese sole muscle volatile compounds. Senegalese sole juveniles (8 g mean IBW) were fed with six extruded diets containing different protein sources: a control diet contained fish meal as the main protein source and five plant protein-based diets, in which fishmeal was replaced by increasing levels of a blend of vegetable proteins: soybean, pea, potato, wheat and corn gluten at five graded levels. The volatile profiling of the raw fish fillets was evaluated using automated HS-SPME coupled to GC–MS. Thirty-five compounds were identified and the most abundant in all samples were quantified. 1-Penten-3-ol, hexanal, 1-octen-3-ol and (E)-2-nonen-1-ol were present in the highest concentrations. Among the 20 compounds quantified, no major differences were observed in muscle volatile profile of fish fed with the different diets (p > 0.05). These findings indicated that fish meal substitution by plant proteins has no major effects on sole’s muscle volatile composition.