###### Abstract  
The objective of this study was to reveal the secrets of the unique meat characteristics of Beijing-you chicken (BY) and to compare the difference of quality and flavor with Luhua chicken (LH) and Arbor Acres broiler (AA) at their typical market ages. The results showed the meat of BY was richer in essential amino acids, arachidonic acid contents, inosine monophosphate (IMP), and guanosine monophosphate (GMP). The total fatty acid and unsaturated fatty acid contents of BY Chicken and LH chicken were lower than that of AA broilers, whereas the ratios of unsaturated fatty acids/saturated fatty acids (2.31) and polyunsaturated fatty acids/monunsaturated fatty acids (1.52) of BY chicken were the highest. The electronic nose and SPME-GC/MS analysis confirmed the significant differences among these three chickens, and the variety and relative content of aldehydes might contribute to a richer flavor of BY chicken. The meat characteristics of BY were fully investigated and showed that BY chicken might be favored among these three chicken breeds with the best flavor properties and the highest nutritional value. This study also provides an alternative way to identify BY chicken from other chickens. Beijing-you chicken; meat quality; flavor; GC-MS; electronic nose +
Footnote †: journal: _foods_  
0000-0002-0002-0000-0000-0000-0000-0000-0000-0000-0000-0000-0000-0000-  
qualitative and quantitative analysis of volatile compounds [8]. Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) has the advantages of simplicity of operation, speed, a solvent-free nature, analyte separation, and preconcentration [6]. The electronic nose is a device that consists of a multi-sensor array and multidimensional signal processing of the array signal by pattern recognition algorithms [9] and can measure the presence of volatile compounds related to the meat aroma. In this technique, the analytic process does not concentrate on the identification and quantification of the volatile compounds but rather on the quantitative description of the complete aroma profile, including the relationships between its components [10]. Compared with traditional sensory evaluation and physicochemical techniques, which are expensive and time consuming, the electronic nose provides an efficient, rapid, non-destructive, and real-time testing, and this technique is widely used in freshness evaluation [11], shelf-life investigation [12], meat product authenticity [13; 14], and flavor distinction [15; 16]. Compared with the commercial fast-growing broiler breeds, such as Arbor Acres broiler (AA), the slow-growing native chicken is more preferred in Asian areas because of its high nutrition value, unique organoleptic characteristics, and special flavors [17; 18; 19]. An increasing number of people prefer to buy native chickens, even when the price is approximately two to four times higher than the commercial broiler. Luhua (LH) chicken is a Chinese local chicken breed that is widely raised in rural areas in China. Generally, local chickens in China, including BJY chicken and LH chicken, will be used for meat production at 30-40 weeks of age [1]. The imported commercial broiler, however, usually takes approximately 42 days in growth, which makes it the main chicken meat in Chinese supermarkets, especially in the fast-food industry. In this study, the quality and flavor of BJY chicken were fully investigated, and commercial broilers (AA) and common and widely raised Chinese chicken breed chicken (LH) were selected as two typical chickens to investigate the differences in meat quality and flavor. Specifically, both nonvolatile compounds (fatty acids, amino acids, and IMP and their relative contents) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of the three chickens, which contribute to the sensory properties, were measured and compared in detail. Meanwhile, the electronic nose was also used to characterize and classify the differences of volatile compounds of these three chicken breeds.