Abstract
To explore relationships between the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of different grades of olive oils (OOs) (extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), refined olive oil (ROO), and pomace olive oil (POO)) and odor quality, VOCs were measured in the headspace of the oils by proton transfer reaction quadrupole ion guide time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The concentrations of most VOCs differed significantly between the grades (EVOO > ROO > POO), whereas the abundance of m/z 47.012 (formic acid), m/z 49.016 (fragments), m/z 49.027 (fragments), and m/z 115.111 (heptanal/heptanone) increased in that order. Although the refined oils had considerably lower VOC abundance, the extent of the decline varied with the VOCs. This results in differences in VOCs proportions. The high VOC abundance in the EVOO headspace in comparison to ROO and POO results in a richer and more complex odor. The identified C5–C6 compounds are expected to contribute mainly to the green odor notes, while the identified C1–C4 and C7–C15 are mainly responsible for odor defects of OOs. Current results reveal that processing strongly affects both the quantitative and relative abundance of the VOCs and, therefore, the odor quality of the various grades of OOs.
Highlights
Olive oils (OOs) are very popular with customers due to their pleasant flavor and odor, as well as their health benefits
Two hundred OOs were subjected to PTR-QiToF-MS analysis, and 295 mass peaks in the range of m/z 18.033 to m/z 207.204 were obtained for each sample
(276 ppmv) and 5 times higher than that value for pomace olive oil (POO) (127 ppmv). This indicates that extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is richer in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) than the other lower grades of OOs
Summary
Olive oils (OOs) are very popular with customers due to their pleasant flavor and odor, as well as their health benefits. The VOC molecules comprising 5 and 6 carbon atoms (called C5 and C6 compounds), which are mainly produced through enzymatic reactions leading to degradation of polyunsaturated fatty acids during processing [8], are considered the most important VOCs for the green odor notes of EVOO [9,10]. These compounds are more likely to be formed under cold-pressed conditions. VOCs of OOs have been studied before [13,14,15], but so far, the differences in headspace concentrations of the VOCs of different OO grades has not yet been studied
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