Characterization of odor-active compounds in pechiche (Vitex cymosa Berteo ex Speng) fruit

Abstract

Pechiche (Vitex cymosa Berteo ex Speng) is a small tree which grows wild in the provinces of the western coastal region of Ecuador. Volatile constituents of pechiche fruit were isolated by headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and analyzed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The global odor captured by the DVB/CAR/PDMS fiber had a high similarity with respect to the original pulp. GC-O frequency analysis and odor activity value (OAV) were applied to find the odor-active compounds. A total of 109 volatile compounds comprising >99% of the composition were identified. The application of the GC-O and OAV strategies afforded 21 odor-active compounds, from which (E)-4-decenal, (E)-2-octenal, octanal, decanal, (E)- 2-decenal, (E)-2-nonenal, 1-octen-3-one and (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal were the most odor-active compounds.