## 1 Introduction  
One of the most popular food additives is sodium chloride (NaCl). It enhances flavor and ensures microbiological safety in meat products [1]. However, excessive salt consumption can increase blood pressure and lead to cardiovascular disease [2, 3]. Moreover, sodium is accepted as the etiological factor for some diseases such as obesity, various types of cancer, kidney stones, and osteoporosis [4]. Therefore, the World Health Organization (WHO) suggests restricting adult sodium intake to <2 g/day (5 g/day salt) to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease, and stroke [5].  
Salt plays an important role in biochemical and chemical reactions such lipolysis, lipid oxidation, and proteolysis in processed meat products [6; 7] and contributes to the characteristic flavor of dry-cured meat products [8; 9]. Moreover, salt, which is effective in ensuring the solubility of myofibrillar proteins, plays a key role in texture development [10; 11]. Meat products produced from whole pieces such as dry-cured ham are usually exposed to 3-5% NaCl in the dry-curing step [12], and the total processing time of some products may exceed one year [13]. In pastrma, a traditional dry-cured meat product, salt is used in quantities of up to 10% in traditional production, and the production process of pastrma can take up to one month, depending on the size of the muscle or muscles used and the processing conditions [14]. Pastrma, like other dry-cured meat products made from whole pieces, is a significant source of sodium [15]. In a study that aimed to limit the sodium content in the pastrma, it was reported that using 50% KCl instead of sodium chloride during production did not cause any changes in the microbiological, physical, or chemical characteristics of the product [15]. Another study on reducing sodium content determined that KCl can replace 15% NaCl without changing the sensory properties of pastrma [16]. On the other hand, it has been stated that pastrma can be produced using 5% salt under controlled conditions without altering its quality [17].  
The raw material used for pastrma production shows significant differences in terms of both shape and muscle type and structure. Sixteen or more pastrma types can be produced from a cattle or water buffalo carcass [9]. Pastrma types are named according to the part from which they are obtained. Sirt pastrma is obtained from the loin and posterior rib, sekerpare and bohca are obtained from the round, and kusgomu is obtained from the tenderloin [18]. TS 1071 categorizes pastrma into three classes: first, second, and third. In this classification, kusgomu and surt are included in the first class, and sekerpare and bohca are included in the second class [19]. The salt content in pastrma varies depending on raw material and processing conditions [9]. In fact, some studies on pastrma have reported significant differences between pastrma types in terms of salt content [20; 21; 22]. In a study investigating different salt levels (3, 6, and 9%), some of the quality parameters of the surt pastrma were examined [7]. However, there is no information available regarding how reducing the amount of sodium chloride (NaCl) in other types of pastrma affects the lipolytic enzyme activity, volatile profile and other quality parameters. This study was carried out to establish the effect of low-salt processing (3% NaCl) on the lipolytic enzyme activity, volatile profile, color, lipid oxidation, and microbiological properties of four different pastrma types (kusgomu, surt, bohca, and sekerpare). In this study, a 5% NaCl level was also used as the control group.