Abstract
This study investigated the differences and changes in the volatile profiles of buckwheat soksungjang (BS) inoculated with multiple microbial starters (Lactobacillus brevis + Aspergillus oryzae, BS-LA vs. Lactobacillus brevis + Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, BS-LB) during fermentation using SPME coupled with GC-MS and partial least square-discriminant analysis. BS samples fermented for 5 weeks could be differentiated from other BS samples with shorter fermentation periods, and the BS-LA and BS-LB samples fermented for 5 weeks were separated. Acids, benzenes, and esters were main volatile compounds in both BS samples, however, their differences and changes were varied. The increase of 3-methylbutanoic acid was bigger in BS-LB than BS-LA, while the contents of 2- and 3-methylbutanal were relatively higher in BS-LA than BS-LB. Furthermore, the contents of esters of BS-LA significantly increased during fermentation. These results indicate that the volatile profiles of BS samples depend on the fermentation periods and the combination of microbial starters.