Investigation of Aroma Components of Tuber aestivum and Tuber borchii Collected From Different Location in Türkiye

Abstract

Truffle is an important food source for wild animals and a significant part of the ecosystem, indicating a healthy forest. With their unique aromas, truffles are also a crucial food source for humans. The volatile substances released by Tuber not only appeal to our sense of smell but also contribute to various biological activities. Different aromas result in different tastes; therefore, aroma is essential in defining the organoleptic properties and quality of underground fungi. This research aims to investigate according to the percentage the chemical components considering the habitat and mycorrhizal host tree species of naturally occurring summer truffle Tuber aestivum Vittad. and white truffle Tuber borchii Vittad. in Southwest Anatolia and Marmara regions. For this purpose, the aroma components of T. aestivum and T. borchii collected from two different regions were analyzed using the HS-SPME-GC/MS system. Accordingly, a total of 59 different compounds (volatile organic compounds) were identified, including 20 compounds in T. aestivum from Muğla, 13 compounds in T. aestivum from Kırklareli, 44 compounds in T. borchii from Muğla, and 33 compounds in T. borchii from Kırklareli, belonging to different classes of compounds. While terpenes such as limonene (37.62%), p-cymene (4.79%), and β-pinene (4.12%) were major compounds in T. aestivum collected from Muğla, 2-octen-1-ol (46.78%), 1-octen-3-ol (40.44%), and 3-octanol (2.62%) predominantly constituted the aroma in T. aestivum from Kırklareli. The characteristic sulfur compounds commonly found in Tuber species were present in 42.19% of T. borchii collected from Kırklareli and 12.15% from Muğla. When comparing T. borchii grown in Kırklareli and Muğla, 3-methyl-4,5-dihydrothiophene (29.53% and 6.73%) p-methyl thiobenzaldehyde (2.75% and 5.42%), and methionine (9.91% in Kırklareli, not detected in Muğla) were found in different percentage rates. Based on the data obtained in this study, the classification of both Tuber species, with respect to their geographical origin, was determined using hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). Accordingly, it is show that of the aroma of Tuber species of the chemical components and the aroma components to the formation should be cultivated after optimizing the ecological conditions that contribute to the symbiotic life of the plant species they provide.