"Flavor Intensity" Evaluation of Two Peach Fruit Accessions and Their Four Offspring at Unripe and Ripe Stages by HS-SPME-GC/MS

Abstract

This work successfully used an easy analytical method to produce comparable data referable to sensorial quality of fru its. In this study we examined the distribution of twenty-two volatile co mpounds for two peach accessions, Bolero and Oro A, and four of their offspring using head space solid-phase micro-ext raction (HS-SPM E) and GC-MS. The quantitative comparative distributions of thirteen "key volatile co mpounds" were elaborated to deduce the "flavour intensity" of each compound for each peach sample, also at two extreme stages (unripe and ripe). Clear d ifferences were found between Oro A and Bo lero and some trends have been evidenced considering their four offspring (for ex. total flavour intensities, hexyl-acetate trend, uniform decrease of (E)-2-hexenal). The criterion adopted permits to compare the flavours quality using "flavour intensity" data and to search for similar characteristics.