Origin identification of Chinese Maca using electronic nose coupled with GC-MS.

Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp.), originated in the high Andes of Peru, is rich in nutrients and phytochemicals. As a new resource food in China, Maca suffers marketing disorders due to the limitation of basic research. Due to the close relationship of Maca quality and origin of place, it's of scientific, economic and social importance to set up a rapid, reliable and efficient method to identify Maca origin. In the present study, 303 Maca samples were collected from 101 villages of the main producing area in China. Using electronic nose and BP neutral network algorithm, a Maca odor database was set up to trace the origin. GC-MS was then employed to analyze the characteristic components qualitatively and semi-quantitatively. As a result, very significant differences (p < 0.01) were detected in the volatile components of Maca from different areas. This study not only constructs a network model to forecast the Maca origin, but also reveals the relationship between Maca odor fingerprints and origins.