Flavour volatile compound analysis in strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) fruits: comparison of two mass spectrometer techniques for identifying volatile compounds

Abstract

Strawberry fruits (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) cv. Elsanta were harvested at the ideal stage of maturity and their volatile compound profile was analysed using both Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionisation–Mass Spectrometry (APCI–MS) and Gas Chromatograph–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS). The APCI–MS was run simultaneously with GC–MS so that after identification of the most abundant compounds by APCI–MS, GC–MS could separate the ions and compare them with a Masslynx library to enable their identification. There was good agreement on the compound identity using the two techniques for nine out of fourteen selected volatile compounds. However the GC–MS gave a different identity to five of the selected compounds. The APCI–MS offers a rapid method of compound analysis while the GC–MS is slow but can differentiate between stereo-isomers.