Characterization of the Major Odor-Active Compounds in Dry Jujube Cultivars by Application of Gas Chromatography-Olfactometry and Odor Activity Value.

The volatile compounds of jujube ( Ziziphus jujube Mill.) puree obtained from three cultivars, 'Jinsixiaozao' (Y1), 'Youzao' (Y2), and 'Yuzao' (Y3), were analyzed by gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, gas chromatography-flame photometric detection, and a nitrogen phosphorus detector. The results showed that a total of 37, 37, and 35 odor-active compounds were identified by GC-O in samples of Y1, Y2, and Y3, respectively. In addition, the odor activity value (OAV) was used to determine the important compounds. The results demonstrated that hexanal (OAV of 39-85), ( E)-2-octenal (OAV of 32-70), β-damascenone (OAV of 14-49), ethyl hexanoate (OAV of 22-39), 3-mercaptohexyl acetate (OAV of 17-24), and 2,5-dimethylpyrazine (OAV of 17-22) were key odor-active compounds. It is of great significance to develop high-grade jujube food by determining key odor-active compounds. Furthermore, four volatiles (hexanal, 1-octen-3-ol, 3-mercapohexyl acetate, and benzaldehyde) reduced the overall threshold value by 2.36, 1.01, 1.34, and 1.19, respectively.