A Novel Visualisation Approach for Assessing Flavour Characteristics of Sea Cucumber Intestines Using Chord Diagram

This study employed the flavour variations in sea cucumber intestines through sensory and instrumental analyses following different boiling and steaming treatments with water (WB, WS) or green tea water (GB, GS). A dictionary comprising eight descriptors was employed for sensory evaluation. Attributes such as tea flavour, sweet, fishy, briny, fatty, fresh, dark appearance and moist appearance were identified using Free Choice Profiling and Check-all-that-apply methods. A total of 57 volatile compounds were identified by gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry. According to the taste activity value (TAV), malic acid and succinic acid were identified as important flavour substances. Glutamic acid (Glu) exhibited a TAV > 1 only in the CON, WS20 and GS20 groups. Steaming exerted a less pronounced impact on flavour compared to boiling. Chord diagram analysis revealed superior efficacy for the GS20 treatment, affirming its utility in flavour assessment of sea cucumber intestines.