Abstract
Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is volatile compound important as one of the characteristic flavor compounds of marine food products. The precursor of DMS in marine products is dimethyl-β-propiothetin (DMPT), which is abundunt in green algae. DMPT was effectively extracted by the use of hydrophilic solvents from dried hitoegusa (Monostroma nitidum), a green alga. At around pH 4 and at over pH 9, the extracted DMPT was rapidly degraded to DMS; at around pH 7.5, this degradation was much slower. The DMS obtained volatilized immediately from aqueous solution. However, when the DMPT was formed into a powder with dextrin and heated to release the DMS, 40-60% of the DMS remained in the powder. The amount of DMS remaining was 80 % when cyclodextrin was used to form the powder.
