Determination of odor-active compounds from Phoebe neurantha (Hemsl.) Gamble and Osmanthus fragrans (Thunb.) Lour. by GC–MS/O and micro-chamber combined with Tenax TA and multi-bed tubes

Abstract

To identify odorous substances of solid wood, the emission from two types of wood species, namely Phoebe neurantha (Hemsl.) Gamble and Osmanthus fragrans (Thunb.) Lour. was sampled by micro-chamber extractor, combined with the Tenax TA tube and multi-bed tube (carbopack C, carbopack B and carboxen 1000). The odor-active compounds were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/olfactometry (GC–MS/O), which combine instrumental and sensory analyses. The results showed that, for Phoebe neurantha and Osmanthus fragrans, 12 and 20 kinds of odor-active compounds were identified. The main odor contributors of Phoebe neurantha were “D-limonene, 2-hexanol, 1-heptanol and 2-hexanone”, with the dominant odor impressions of fragrant, irritant, special and fruity. The main odor contributors of Osmanthus fragrans were “camphene, heptanal and pentanal”, while the key odor impressions were spicy, fruity and fatty. VOC concentration and odorous concentration of Phoebe neurantha were higher than Osmanthus fragrans. The proportion of the odorant concentration to the TVOC concentration of Phoebe neurantha and Osmanthus fragrans was 77.39 and 58.68 percent, respectively. The multi-bed tube, which showed excellent adsorption performance for alcohols and compounds with low molecular weight in this study, is able to capture some of the key odor-active compounds that Tenax TA tube cannot collect. Identification of the composition of these two wood species will expand the solid wood odorous substance database and help to establish a method to investigate the odorants with low molecular weight from wood. Through this study, a better understanding of the characteristic odor from wooden materials used in daily life could be obtained.